TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo said that East Java is ready to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine after meeting with the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) of East Java and ulema this morning, Monday, March 22.

“This morning, I met with the East Java MUI and ulema to talk about the AstraZeneca vaccine. They declare readiness to be given the vaccine and will soon be used in Islamic boarding schools in East Java,” said the President while observing the mass vaccination at the Wibawa Delta Hall, Sidoarjo Regency, East Java, on Monday, March 22.

He appreciated the stance and thus ordered the Health Minister to distribute the vaccine to the region. “That deserves our appreciation. I have ordered the Health Minister to quickly distribute the vaccine to East Java and other provinces,” he added.

Previously reported, the East Java Regional Management of Nahdlatul Ulama shared a different opinion from the Central MUI regarding the status of the AstraZeneca vaccine. MUI declared haram for the vaccine as the manufacturing process used trypsin from a pig. However, it was permitted for emergency use.

The East Java NU, meanwhile, stated that the vaccine was halal because the enzyme was only needed in the breeding process.

The East Java NU also declared that the Covid-19 vaccination is mandatory, including with the AstraZeneca vaccine, as an effort to prevent oneself and others from the disease.

Read: Govt Asks Indonesians Not to Hesitate to Get AstraZeneca Shot

DEWI NURITA