Ministry Of Health: Sinovac Can Be Used For Booster Vaccination

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JAKARTA - Spokesperson for the COVID-19 Vaccination of the Ministry of Health, Dr. Siti Nadia Tarmizi, said that the Sinovac vaccine could be used as a booster dose vaccine following the decision of the Supreme Court regarding halal vaccines that the government must implement.

"People who feel comfortable using the Sinovac vaccine, we open up opportunities for the vaccine to be used also as a booster vaccination", she said as quoted by Antara, Monday, April 25.

Her party respects the Supreme Court's decision No. 31 P/HUM/2022 on the recommendation to provide halal vaccines in the national vaccination program.

The COVID-19 vaccines that have been declared halal by the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) are the Sinovac and Sinopharm vaccines.

During an emergency, MUI has provided recommendations for the use of several types of vaccines, including the halal fatwa vaccine for the Sinovac and Sinopharm vaccines.

Currently, Nadia said, the vaccines circulating in Indonesia include Sinovac, AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Moderna, Janssen, and Sinopharm vaccines.

However, he stressed, that the vaccines that have been widely circulated in Indonesia are also vaccines that are widely used in other Muslim countries, such as the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Pakistan, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Iran, Egypt, Palestine, Morocco, and Bahrain.

"It is also proven that in these Muslim countries the cases of COVID-19 can be controlled until now", she said.

Previously, the Supreme Court granted a judicial review of Presidential Regulation Number 99 of 2020 in Article 2 paragraph 1 concerning Vaccine Procurement and Vaccination in the Context of Overcoming the COVID-19 Pandemic.

As stated in the ruling Number 31 P/HUM/2022, the Supreme Court of the Republic of Indonesia stated Article 2 of Presidential Regulation Number 99 of 2020 concerning Vaccine Procurement and vaccination in the context of dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic is contrary to higher laws and regulations, namely the provisions of Article 4 of Law Number 33 of 2014 concerning Guaranteed Halal Products.

"The government (Minister of Health, Committee for Handling Corona Virus Disease 2019/COVID-19 and National Economic Recovery, and Head of the Food and Drug Supervisory Agency), is obliged to provide protection and guarantees regarding the halalness of the type of COVID-19 vaccine that is stipulated for the implementation of the COVID-19 vaccination in the territory of Indonesia," reads a copy of the decision of the Supreme Court.