Indonesia's top Islamic body declared Friday that China's Sinovac coronavirus vaccine is halal, meaning it is made in accordance with Islamic law and can be taken by Muslims.
The Ulemas Council granted the halal status just ahead of the government's plan to start an inoculation program with the China-made vaccine next week, with President Joko Widodo saying he hopes to demonstrate his confidence in the safety of the drug by being the first to be vaccinated.
Whether the vaccine would be deemed halal has been a major concern to many in the country, as Indonesia is home to the world's largest Muslim population.
The head of the Fatwa Commission of the council, Asrorun Niam, said that the complete fatwa, or religious order, is still awaiting authorization from the country's Food and Drug Monitoring Agency regarding the safety, quality and efficacy of the vaccine.
A total of 3 million doses of the vaccine from Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac Biotech Ltd. have been distributed across the archipelago for emergency use pending approval from the agency.
On Wednesday, the country announced it will impose stricter restrictions on people's movements and activities on the islands of Java and Bali for two weeks from Monday to deal with a spike in cases of the COVID-19 disease caused by the virus.
Indonesia reported 10,617 new virus cases on Friday, a record daily high, bringing its total cases to 808,340 with 23,753 fatalities.
==Kyodo
© Kyodo News International, Inc., source Newswire
