By: Zulkarnain) *
The world of cyberspace was excited by the news about the AstraZeneca vaccine in the UK which can cause blood clots. However, the Ministry of Health (Kemenkes) emphasizes that they continue to use and distribute the AstraZeneca vaccine, which is proven safe to use.
The government is optimal in distributing AstraZeneca vaccines. Of course, the distribution of the vaccine is not without reason, because the Food and Drug Supervisory Agency (BPOM) to the National Commission on Post-Immunization Events (KIPI) still state that the AstraZeneca vaccine is safe.
This was also reinforced by the decision of the World Health Organization (WHO) and WHO’s Strategic Advisory Group for Immunization Experts (SAGE) which stated that the AstraZeneca vaccine could still be used for consideration.
WHO also considers that the benefits of the AstraZeneca vaccine outweigh the risks and recommends that vaccination be continued.
WHO also said that Covid-19 vaccination would not reduce illness or death from other causes. But thromboembolic events or blood clots are known to occur frequently.
WHO also said that every vaccination campaign, many countries routinely report various possible side effects that occur after immunization. Although not always the side effects that arise are caused by the ingredients of the vaccine.
This means that the incident is related to the vaccination itself. But it is a good step to investigate. It also shows that the surveillance system is functioning and that an effective control system is always in place.
Meanwhile, the government is also optimistic that the 1.1 million AstraZeneca vaccines that have been received through the WHOAX WHO scheme will be used up before the end of the shelf life, namely May 2021. Vaccines will also be prioritized for groups in need. This was revealed by Dr. Siti Nadia Tarmizi as the spokesperson for the Covid-19 vaccination for the ministry of health.
The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) has stated that the Covid-19 AstraZeneca vaccine produced by SK Bioscience in Andong City, South Korea can be used in an emergency even though it contains trypsin from pigs.
The head of the MUI for Fatwa, Asrorun Niam, in his press conference said, the first legal provision for the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine is haram because in the production stage it uses trypsin from pigs.
However, the second legal provision is that the current use of the Covid-19 vaccine from AstraZeneva is legal.
Asrorun revealed five reasons why the vaccine can be used in an emergency.
First, currently Indonesia is in a state of sharia emergency, where there is information from competent and trusted experts about the dangers or fatal risks of not getting the Covid-19 vaccination.
Then, the availability of the Covid-19 vaccine that is halal and holy is not sufficient for the implementation of the Covid-19 vaccination to realize herd immunity.
In addition, the government guarantees the security of its use in accordance with the explanation given at the fatwa commission meeting.
On a different occasion, the Bathsul Masail Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) Institute decided that the AstraZeneca vaccine used in Indonesia was holy and permissible (permissible) to be used. Not because it is harmless, but also because it is holy.
This decision was stated in the results of Bathsul Masail NU Number 1 of 2021 concerning the fiqh view regarding the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine. Bathsul Masail itself was held on March 25, 2021.
In the Bahtsul Masail LBM PBNU forum, AstraZeneca explained that the entire process of making vaccines does not use ingredients derived from pork. As for the use of pig tipin in the development process, initially it was only used to remove the host cell from the container which was carried out by Thermo Fisher as a supplier before being purchased by Oxford-AstraZeneca.
During the meeting, AstraZeneca’s vaccine production process was explained. The process of developing Hex 293 cells by Thermo Fisher utilizes trypsi from the pig element which functions to separate the host cell from the plate or cell culture medium, not as a mixture of materials or cell germs.
Meanwhile, regarding the unclean pigs, the Bahtsul Masail forum follows the opinion of rajih according to Al-Imam An-Nawawi which states that washing things that are contaminated with unclean pork is sufficient to wash them with one wash without using a mixture of dust or soil.
Referring to these various perspectives, of course we don’t need to worry about the AstraZeneca vaccine, especially in an emergency like this time.
) * The author is a contributor to Pertiwi Institute
