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