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After MUI fatwa, AstraZeneca vaccine sent to East Java
While the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) has declared the vaccine haram, it has made an allowance for the emergency situation.
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Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin (third left) observes the vaccination of a cleric from Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) in Surabaya, East Java, on March 23. One hundred NU clerics have been given the AstraZeneca vaccine, which has been declared haram by the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) for allegedly using pork-derived products in its production. (Antara/Moch. Asim)
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uthorities have distributed most of Indonesia's AstraZeneca vaccine doses to East Java, where local religious leaders have deemed the vaccine halal, in opposition to the central Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), which has declared it haram but has made a special allowance for the emergency circumstances.
Most of the remaining doses have been sent to regions of the country with relatively few Muslims.
The vaccine’s distributor, state-owned pharmaceutical company Bio Farma, shipped 45,000 of the 113,600 AstraZeneca vaccine vials in the country to East Java on March 20. One vial consists of 10 vaccine doses.
The firm's spokesperson, Iwan Setiawan, said in a statement that the Health Ministry had instructed the firm to distribute the vaccine to the province. On the same day, the ministry also instructed Bio Farma to send 5,000 vials each to Bali and East Nusa Tenggara (NTT).
On Monday, the firm sent 5,000 vials each to Jakarta, the Riau Islands and North Sulawesi. Bio Farma is awaiting instruction from the Health Ministry on the distribution of the remaining vials.
Read also: Indonesia ready to start using AstraZeneca jab after suspension
The Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM) approved the vaccine for emergency use on March 19, after a brief delay over concerns about adverse effects.
