Wednesday, January 6, 2021

Corona Daily 221: In Search of a Halal Vaccine


Today, on 6 January, Indonesia, like many other countries, reported a daily record of cases. The Indonesian archipelago has had 800,000 cases and 23,000 deaths so far. However, the nation and its capital, Jakarta, lead in under-reporting covid deaths.

Like many other countries, Indonesia is now getting desperate to vaccinate its population. It has more than 17,000 islands, so distribution of vaccines was always going to be a problem. Wisely, Indonesia has placed binding orders from AstraZeneca (100 million), Novavax (50 million), Pfizer (50 million), Covax/Gavi (53 million) and China’s Sinovac (125 million).

The vaccination will start from 13 January. The plan is to vaccinate 182 million adult Indonesians in 15 months. The only problem is that not a single vaccine is approved. Except a few doses of Sinovac, no other vaccine is available, either.

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Indonesia has a dual approval process – one by the medical regulating authorities, and the other by the council of Muslim clerics. Indonesia, by the way, is the world’s most populous Islamic nation with 230 million Muslims. The Ulema council is the authority to decide whether any food, drug, cosmetic or vaccine can be certified as per the Quran. At the Global Halal center near Jakarta, the council operates its own labs in biotechnology, physics, chemistry and microbiology which it has recently used to test Sinovac’s vaccine for pig products.

Pork gelatin is a standard product used as a stabilizer to keep vaccines safe and effective during storage and transport. Since the negotiations began with China, the council has asked if Coronavac (the Chinese vaccine) contains any pork. In July, a one sentence reply came from China. “Manufactured free of porcine materials”. Neither the length of the letter nor its source was reassuring. In October, along with the scientists, Muslim clerics visited China to visit the vaccine making factory. Till date, China has not revealed the composition.  

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In 2018, during a measles outbreak in Indonesia, the only vaccine available contained pig products. The Ulema council declared it Haram, forbidden under Islam. It said its use would be allowed because the outbreak was a health emergency. But the word “haram” had done the damage. Many local Muslim leaders opposed the use of a haram vaccine. Ten million children remained unvaccinated. Measles cases subsequently soared, to become the third-highest in the world.

Last month, the Vatican released a statement declaring coronavirus vaccines “morally acceptable” for Catholics who oppose vaccines developed with stem cells from aborted fetuses. The top Rabbis have cleared vaccines for Jews arguing vaccines are not exactly a food item. Malaysia and UAE have approved pork-containing vaccines, because preserving human life is more important.

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Indonesia’s vaccine priorities are also unique. They will vaccinate the young and healthy, age group 18-59 before the elderly. Government’s stated logic is to protect the young, working people; allow them to work and move freely; and stop the virus transmission that so often is started by the young. 40% of the elderly Indonesians live in three-generation households.

The real reason, though, is that the Chinese company Sinovac has only conducted trials among the 18-59 age group. China’s record is not great. In 2018, a scandal ensued over substandard doses of a vaccine for diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough, and over fabricated data for a rabies vaccine. Indonesia wouldn’t want to risk inoculating the age groups that were not included in the trials.

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This week, a Fatwa from the Ulema Council is awaited. For the sake of the Indonesian population, one hopes the council declares the vaccine as Halal.

Ravi 

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