KONTAN.CO.ID - JAKARTA. The rollout of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine has started in Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim majority nation, despite concern and some confusion over whether the Anglo-Swedish product is halal, or permissible under Islam. The country has started distributing the vaccine in six provinces, a week after the Indonesia Ulema Council, the main Muslim group that issues halal certifications, last week said it contained trypsin sourced from the pancreas of a pig. AstraZeneca has said the vaccine contains no pork-derived ingredients.
Baca Juga: Britain hits milestone as half of all adults get first vaccine dose The East Java chapter of the Ulema council on Monday said the vaccine was halal when it was administered to some of its members. It did not say why it had been deemed halal. Misbakhul Munir, a 57-year-old member of the Nahdlatul Ulama in East Java, said he welcomed the AstraZeneca vaccine, but laments the mixed messages about it. "I strongly dislike the ambiguous decision," he said of the halal status. "I'll just adhere to what the local council said." Indonesia gave the go-ahead to use the AstraZeneca vaccine on Friday after European experts found no link between the vaccine and reports of blood clots among some its recipients in Europe.