Whether Halal Or Haram, AstraZeneca Vaccines Are Still Used

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JAKARTA - The government has distributed the AstraZeneca vaccine to seven provinces, amidst a polemic about the halal or illegal COVID-19 vaccine from England.

The spokesman from the Ministry of Health, Siti Nadia Tarmizi, said that the provinces that will receive the vaccine from the UK are 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, Monday, March 22.

The AstraZeneca vaccine targets the second stage of vaccination priority groups, namely public service officials and the elderly. As of today, the provinces that have received the AstraZeneca vaccine are East Java and Bali.

Nadia explained the reason the AstraZeneca vaccine was distributed to the seven provinces because 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.

Halal or haram, still used

The AstraZeneca vaccine is distributed when there is a polemic about halal or haram. Chairman of the MUI Fatwa Commission Asrorun Niam Sholeh said the composition of the England 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.

The Institute for the Assessment of Food, Drugs, and Cosmetics (LPPOM) of The Indonesian Ulama Council (MUI), emphasized that the AstraZeneca type of COVID-19 vaccine has been declared haram in its legal provisions.

LPPOM MUI even stated that it could prove the vaccine if in the production process using trypsin which comes from the pork pancreas. This conclusion was obtained after reviewing all the vaccine documents from England.

Director of LPPOM MUI, Muti Arintawari, explained that her party had carried out two study steps. First, the dossier study. The second is the study of scientific publications.

"Dossier is a document that contains complete materials related to the COVID-19 vaccine produced by AstraZeneca. The dossier was obtained by MUI after conducting a document audit at BPOM (National Food and Drugs Agency)", Muti said, Monday, March 22.

However, the head of the East Java Indonesian Ulama 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 priests, ulama, the boarding school caregivers, that the AstraZeneca vaccine is halalan-toyyiban (lawful and permitted by the Islamic Law)", said Hasan.

However, after all, Vice President Ma'ruf Amin emphasized that the provision of the COVID-19 vaccine that can be injected into the public does not lie in its halal problem, but rather its ability.

"If the issue is halal or haram, I think what is being questioned should be allowed or not, not halal or haram", said Vice President Ma'ruf Amin.

Even though a COVID-19 vaccine contains haram elements, the Vice President continued, this can be ruled out as long as the Indonesian Ulama Council (MUI) states that the vaccine can be given to the public.

"Because it is halal or haram, MUI says it is permissible. Moreover, if it is indeed halal, so it is more permissible. So that is not a problem in my opinion", he said.