AstraZeneca Vaccine Does not Contain Porcine Material
The fatwa (edict) commission of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) declared the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine haram (forbidden by Islamic law) because it used trypsin enzyme from pigs in its viral multiplication process. The fatwa runs counter to the drug monitoring agency (BPOM)’s ruling that the enzyme is already broken up thus no longer present in the vaccine making process. Penny Kusumastuti Lukito, Chair of BPOM, considers the end product to be free of porcine material. Given the limited supply of halal (permissible by Islamic law)-certified vaccine Sinovac, the government has no choice but to turn to other vaccines including AstraZeneca.
Stefanus Pramono
March 22, 2021
UNLIKE Sinovac, AstraZeneca vaccine’s entry into Indonesia has been an uphill climb. A total of 1.113 million doses which arrived on March 8 from the United Kingdom cannot be used pending the issuance of a halal (permissible by Islamic law) edict by the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI).
Although Penny Kusumastuti Lukito, Chair of the Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM), had signed the emergency use permit for AstraZeneca on February
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