Compliance Study Completed, MUI Brings Sinovac Vaccine Audit To Fatwa Session

ILLUSTRATION / Guarding box trucks carrying doses of COVID-19 vaccine at the Pharmacy warehouse of the Central Java Health Service (ANTARA)

JAKARTA - The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) has completed a field audit of the Sinovac vaccine, starting with the Sinovac company in Beijing and PT Bio Farma in Bandung.

The head of the MUI's Fatwa Division, Asroroun Niam Sholeh, said that this audit was carried out to determine whether the vaccine made by this Chinese company was halal.

"The field audit was continued with an in-depth discussion with the board of directors and the team which ended at 15:45 WIB," Asrorun said in his statement, Tuesday, January 5.

Asrorun said the documents needed by the auditor team to complete the study had also been received today from Sinovac via electronic mail.

After that, the MUI auditor team will complete its study and will be reported to the MUI Fatwa Commission hearing.

"The Fatwa Commission will hold a plenary session to discuss the aspect of syar'i after receiving reports, explanations and in-depth studies with the auditor team," he said.

Previously, Chairman of the Committee for Handling COVID-19 and National Economic Recovery (KPCPEN) Airlangga Hartato said that the COVID-19 vaccination could be carried out in mid-January.

With a note, the Food and Drug Supervisory Agency (BPOM) has issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) for the Sinovac vaccine which has been imported to Indonesia as many as 3 million doses.

"The government will immediately initiate vaccinations scheduled for the middle of the month or next week. This is of course awaiting emergency use authorization from the POM," said Airlangga.

Airlangga said that the EUA permit for the Sinovac vaccine would be issued after seeing the data on the results of phase 3 clinical trials conducted in Bandung and a number of other countries such as China, Turkey and Brazil.

Not only that, the implementation of vaccination is also still awaiting the results of a study from the halal aspect by the Institute for the Study of Food, Medicine and Cosmetics, the Indonesian Ulema Council (LPPOM MUI).

"The government is also continuing to prepare various vaccinations for procurement, both AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Novavax, and GAVI," said Airlangga.