Ministry Of Health Claims The AstraZeneca Vaccine Is Being Distributed To 7 Provinces In Many Tourism Sectors

ILLUSTRATION / DOC JATIM PROVINCE

JAKARTA - Vaccination spokesperson from the Ministry of Health, Siti Nadia Tarmizi, said that the AstraZeneca vaccine has begun to be distributed to seven provinces.

Provinces that will receive vaccine quota from England are in DKI Jakarta, Maluku, East Nusa Tenggara, North Sulawesi, Bali, East Java, and Riau Islands.

"The AstraZeneca vaccine has been distributed since Saturday, March 20", Nadia told VOI editorial team, Monday, March 22.

Nadia explained that the reason the AstraZeneca vaccine was distributed to the seven provinces was because it was based on considerations of regions that had priority tourism sectors and held international events.

"There is a demand for accelerated vaccination, such as a planned opening of tourism or an international event", said Nadia.

Nadia said the AstraZeneca vaccine is targeting the second stage of vaccination priority groups, namely public service officials and the elderly.

Stumbled on the fatwa by the Indonesian Ulema Council

The use of the AstraZeneca vaccine still reaps pros and cons after the issuance of a fatwa from the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI).

Chairman of the MUI Fatwa Commission Asrorun Niam Sholeh said that his party allowed the use of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in the national vaccination program, even though the composition of the British vaccine contained pork trypsin which is forbidden by Muslims.

"The legal provisions are that the first vaccine AstraZeneca products are haram because the production stages use trypsin from pigs", said Asrorun.

However, the head of the East Java Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) Hasan Mutawakkil said that the AstraZeneca brand of COVID-19 vaccine was halal to use. This is different from the central MUI fatwa which makes AstraZeneca haram.

"The President immediately listened to the opinions and responses of the ulema and the islamic boarding school caregivers, that the AstraZeneca vaccine is halal", said Hasan.