Indonesian president warns never to rush vaccines amid halal concern

The president of the world's major Muslim-majority nation, Joko Widodo, called on Monday (Oct 19) for Indonesia not to rush the rollout of vaccines, citing concerns over public awareness about if they were halal.

With an increase of than 365,000 coronavirus cases and 12,000 deaths, Indonesia has struggled to get its outbreak under control and the federal government has been racing to secure a supply of vaccines while still under development, drawing criticism from some epidemiologists for seeking a "silver bullet" solution before full vaccine efficacy and safety is well known.

Senior ministers have indicated that emergency vaccine authorization could possibly be granted as soon as November.

But the president, better known by his moniker "Jokowi", signaled a far more cautionary approach, warning against haste and urging clear public messaging about whether vaccines were halal, or permissible under Islam.

"I ask that vaccine isn't rushed because it's so complex," Jokowi said ahead of a closed meeting.

"I would like to ensure there is good preparation. On public communication, especially in relation to halal and haram, the price, and quality."

Indonesia has previously pledged to vaccinate a lot more than 100 million people next year, but Jokowi on Monday said that scale of inoculation within an archipelagic nation of 270 million will be uniquely challenging.

Controversy over whether vaccines adhere to Muslim principles has stymied public health responses before in Indonesia, including in 2018, when the Indonesian Ulema Council issued a fatwa declaring a measles vaccine was haram or forbidden under Islam.

Indonesia has secured 50 million doses from China's Sinovac by March next year and 100 million from AstraZeneca by next April, in addition to other deals.

Vaccines from Sinovac in addition to China's Sinopharm and CanSino Biologics for 9.1 million people will be available this season, with health staff prioritized, said Achmad Yurianto, a senior health ministry official.

Indonesia's rush to secure supplies of unproven vaccines has made concern among epidemiologists, some of which argue it should instead concentrate on testing and contact tracing until an effective and safe vaccine is available.

"Many countries think a vaccine will be their silver bullet to cope with the pandemic," said Dicky Budiman, an Indonesian epidemiologist from Australia's Griffith University.

"But unfortunately, the annals of pandemics, the literature, will not support that."