Considered No Longer An Emergency, Legislators Ask The Government To Ensure Halal Booster Vaccines

JAKARTA - The government plans to inject a booster vaccine or a third dose for the general public starting in early 2022. The House of Representatives has asked the government to ensure that the vaccine used is a halal vaccine.

The plan is for the poor and underprivileged who are already participants of BPJS Health's contribution assistance (PBI) to get a booster vaccine for free, while those who are non-PBI will be charged a fee or pay.

Regarding the halal vaccine, member of Commission IX of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Yahya Zaini, believes that this must be confirmed because the current condition is no longer an emergency. On the other hand, until now the government has not determined the type of vaccine that will be used.

"At the beginning of vaccination, emergency reasons can be used as a basis for allowing the use of non-halal vaccines. But for the current condition, is that reason still relevant," said Yahya Zaini, Sunday, December 26.

The East Java electoral district legislator explained that there are two brands of COVID-19 vaccines that have obtained a 100 percent halal and holy certificate from the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI). Namely, Sinovac and Zivifax. The two types of COVID-19 vaccines, said Yahya, have also obtained a permit for the emergency use of the COVID-19 vaccine or an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) permit from BPOM. Meanwhile, apart from Sinovac and Zivifax, the vaccines currently used are Moderna, Pfizer and AstraZeneca.

The Golkar politician assesses that with the increasing number of halal vaccine options, there is no longer any reason for people who have refused to be vaccinated on the grounds that they are not halal. "It must be admitted that there are still some people who are doubtful and don't want to be vaccinated on the grounds that the vaccine is not halal. This, among other things, is reflected in areas where vaccination rates are still low, such as in Aceh," concluded Yahya.