COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptance Rests on Halal Status, Safety

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian government is striving to win the hearts and minds of all citizens and enlist their participation for the COVID-19 immunization program.

As recently disclosed by Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, the government will likely commence the first phase of COVID-19 immunization in the third week of December this year.

However, the program will start only after Indonesia's Drug and Food Control Agency (BPOM) issues an emergency-use authorization (EUA) for the COVID-19 vaccine. As of Saturday afternoon (December 19, 2020), the agency was yet to grant its permission.

Earlier, COVID-19 Handling and National Economic Recovery Working Committee chairperson Airlangga Hartarto had said he remained optimistic the BPOM would soon issue the EUA once the clinical test results and data from China's Sinovac Biotech become available.

"We are optimistic of the BPOM soon issuing the emergency-use authorization, and now, it still awaits data from Sinovac and the result of a clinical trial conducted in Bandung (West Java) and Brazil, scheduled for completion on December 15," he informed on December 14, 2020.

From the start, the Indonesian government has consistently expressed confidence that the COVID-19 vaccine will help contain the pandemic, which has posed a serious threat to public health and economy.

Over the past few months, it has endeavored to secure potential COVID-19 vaccines for Indonesians through bilateral and multilateral cooperation.

Indonesia has established cooperation with China and the United Kingdom for the procurement and supply of COVID-19 vaccines, while at the same time, it has encouraged the development of its own COVID-19 vaccine, Merah Putih (Red and White), named after the colors of the national flag.

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has announced his readiness to be the first recipient of the vaccine once the BPOM issues emergency-use approval.

He has been striving to convince the entire nation to participate in the vaccination program, which is considered crucial for the government's endeavors to win its fight against the ongoing pandemic.

The government is aware of the fact that not all Indonesians are keen to get vaccinated, deputy chair of the COVID-19 Handling and National Economic Recovery Committee (KPC-PEN), Erick Thohir, said recently.

Research has shown that 66 percent of Indonesians are keen to get vaccinated, while 16 percent are reluctant to join the vaccination program, he revealed.

He admitted he did not know the reasons why some people are refusing to get vaccinated.

Their hesitance could be related to the question of whether the vaccines would be “halal or haram”, Thohir said adding, if that is the case, the government will let the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) resolve the matter.

To encourage Muslim communities to participate in the first phase of the upcoming COVID-19 vaccination program, Presidential Chief of Staff, Moeldoko, visited Abdullah Gymnastiar alias Aa Gym's Islamic boarding school on December 4, 2020.

During his meeting with the popular Muslim preacher at Daarut Tauhid's eco-Islamic boarding school in Bandung Barat district, West Java, Moeldoko requested him to participate in the vaccination program.

Aa Gym responded positively to Moeldoko's request and expressed his readiness to be a part of the vaccination program if the vaccines are certified as halal, or religiously acceptable for consumption according to Muslim law.

The question of halal status for COVID-19 vaccines supplied by foreign pharma companies raised by Aa Gym represents the concerns of several Muslims in the country.

Secretary general of the Center for the Syarikat Islam Ideological Defense (Perisai), Harjono, for instance, has made an earnest request to Indonesian authorities to guarantee the halal status of China's Sinovac vaccine before its mass use under the vaccination program.

In addition, Perisai has also urged the BPOM to conduct a comprehensive and stringent study on the vaccine before granting it EUA for safety reasons.

Harjono contended that the halal status and safety of the Chinese vaccine are indispensable and crucial determining factors in its mass acceptance amid the fact that the percentage decrease in the incidence of infection among those in the vaccinated groups remains unknown.

He also sought continued transparency from the BPOM pertaining to the research process and comprehensiveness in its scientific study on the Chinese vaccine, and asked it to take public safety into account before granting approval for the vaccine’s distribution.

"The BPOM must be careful and transparent in the research process because the importance of people's safety goes beyond everything. There must be scientific standards applied by the agency for the sake of accountability," he remarked.

Harjono then urged communities to support and oversee clinical trials of the vaccine to ensure that the standardization process of examinations is fulfilled before the BPOM issues its EUA.

To this end, he urged the agency to not ignore any scientific standardization of the clinical trials of the Sinovac vaccine for the sole objective of meeting a "deadline".

"We believe there is a targeted timeframe and achievement that the government is keen to secure. However, the BPOM is expected to remain committed to strictly applying the scientific standardization to guarantee efficacy, quality (of the vaccine), and safety for the community," he remarked.

The government's efforts to encourage the entire nation to get vaccinated must be supported to create herd immunity among members of communities, but the issues of "halal" status as well as efficacy, quality, effectiveness, and safety of the vaccines also need to be addressed candidly, he added.

Also Read: Govt Urged to Guarantee Halal Status, Safety of Sinovac Vaccine

ANTARA