JAKARTA (Reuters) – AstraZeneca said on Sunday that its COVID-19 vaccine does not contain pork-derived ingredients, countering a claim in Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim nation, that the drug violates Islamic law.
Indonesia’s highest Muslim clerical council, the Indonesia Ulema Council, said on its website on Friday that the vaccine is “haram” because the manufacturing process uses “trypsin from the pig’s pancreas.”
However, the council approved the AstraZeneca vaccine for use in the face of a pandemic emergency.
But AstraZeneca Indonesia spokesman Rizman Abudaeri said in a statement: “At all stages of the production process, this virus vaccine does not use or come into contact with pig products or other animal products.” .
The country’s food and drug agency and agency did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Indonesian authorities on Friday approved the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine after reviewing reports that it had caused blood clots among some recipients in Europe.
Indonesia faces one of the worst coronavirus outbreaks in Asia – with 1,455,788 cases and 39,447 deaths as of Saturday.
Nilufar Rizki Reports; Written by Fathin Ungku; Edited by William Mallard