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Updated March 21st, 2021 at 16:36 IST

AstraZeneca responds to concerns over 'pork-derived ingredients' in COVID-19 vaccines

AstraZeneca Plc, on March 21, said that its COVID-19 vaccine contains no pork-derived ingredients, countering assertions that the drug violates Islamic law.

Reported by: Riya Baibhawi
AstraZeneca says its vaccine does not involve pork derived products
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AstraZeneca Plc, on March 21, said that its COVID-19 vaccine contains no pork-derived ingredients, countering assertions in Indonesia that the drug violates Islamic law. Previously, Ulema Council the country’s top Muslim clerical body, had called the vaccine "haram" saying that its manufacturing process uses "trypsin enzyme" derived from pork pancreas. Speaking to media reporters, the council president had reckoned that it was "mandatory" for Muslims to participate in the government's vaccination program, and for the government to keep working on securing vaccines. 

‘No use of pork products'

On March 21, a spokesman for the British Swedish Pharmaceutical released a statement stressing that the vaccine does not use or even come in contact with pork derived products. At all stages of the production process, this virus vector vaccine does not use nor come in contact with pork-derived products or other animal products." In Islam, eating pork is considered dirty and a sin. 

The southeast Asian country’s regulatory body had, on March 19, restarted the rollout of the virus vector vaccine highlighting the “emergency situation” in the country. Despite giving emergency approval to the jabs earlier this month, the country had halted its use after reports of severe blood clots surfaced. Indonesia started its phased vaccination drive earlier in January and has been relying on jabs received as a part of COVAX apart from China’s Sinovax for inoculation. 

Indonesia's re-approval of the vaccine came after the EMA released a special report on the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine with an aim to ward off scepticism surrounding jabs.  In its “clear conclusion”, the regulatory body stressed that, following an investigation into 30 cases of unusual blood disorders, it found that the vaccine's “benefits in protecting people from coronavirus-related death or hospitalization outweighs the possible risks”. However, it said a link between blood clots in the brain and the shot could not be definitively ruled out.

As per the latest tally by John Hopkins University, Indonesia has reported 1,455,788 cases and 39,447 deaths from the lethal viral infection.  

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Published March 21st, 2021 at 16:36 IST

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