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Cover Story
@ Halal | March-April . 2021
Are the vaccines
halal ?
Covid-19 , vaccines and vaccination for Preservation of Life
|
by Prof Dr Jamalludin Ab Rahman Department of Community Medicine Kulliyyah ( Faculty ) of Medicine , International Islamic University Malaysia |
Assoc . Prof Dr Mohamad Haniki Nik Mohamed Department of Pharmacy Practice Kulliyyah ( Faculty ) of Pharmacy , International Islamic University Malaysia |
Assoc Prof Dr Miszairi Sitiris Department of Fiqh & Usul al-Fiqh Kulliyyah ( Faculty ) of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences , International Islamic University Malaysia |
The Moderna Covid-19 vaccine contains the following ingredients : messenger ribonucleic acid ( mRNA ), lipids ( SM-102 , polyethene glycol [ PEG ] 2000 dimyristoyl glycerol [ DMG ], cholesterol , and 1,2-distearoylsn-glycerol-3-phosphocholine [ DSPC ]), tromethamine , tromethamine hydrochloride , acetic acid , sodium acetate , and sucrose .
The Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine ( Comirnaty ®) includes the following ingredients : mRNA , lipids (( 4-hydroxybutyl ) azanediyl ) bis ( hexane-6,1- diyl ) bis ( 2-hexyldecanoate ), 2 [( polyethylene glycol ) -2000] -N, N-ditetradecylacetamide , 1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine , and cholesterol ), potassium chloride , monobasic potassium phosphate , sodium chloride , dibasic sodium phosphate dihydrate , and sucrose .
All of these substances are synthetic innature or plant-based materials , and hence the vaccines are permissible to be used by Muslims .
The Janssen / J & J Covid-19 vaccines con- tain a replication-incompetent recombinant adenovirus type 26 ( Ad26 ) vector expressing the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 ( SARS-CoV-2 ) spike ( S ) protein in a stabilised conformation .
The Ad26 vector expressing the SARS- CoV-2 S protein is grown in PER . C6 TetR cells in media containing amino acids and no animal-derived proteins . After propagation , the vaccine is processed through several purification steps , formulated with inactive ingredients and filled into vials .
Each vial also consists of the following inactive ingredients : citric acid monohydrate ( 0.14 mg ), trisodium citrate dihydrate ( 2.02 mg ), ethanol ( 2.04 mg ), 2-hydroxypropyl--cyclodextrin ( HBCD ) ( 25.50 mg ), polysorbate-80 ( 0.16 mg ), sodium chloride ( 2.19 mg ). Each dose may also contain residual amounts of host cell proteins ( ≤0.15 mcg ) and / or host cell DNA ( ≤3 ng ).
The CoronaVac ® by SinoVac is manufactured by inoculation of SARS-CoV-2 virus ( CZ02 Strain ) into African Green Monkey Kidney Cell ( Vero Cell ). The virus is incubated , harvested , inactivated , concentrated , purified and adsorbed by aluminium hydroxide .
Other excipients include disodium hydrogen phosphate , sodium dihydrogen phosphate and sodium chloride . The Indonesian Ulema Council ( Majelis Ulema Indonesia , MUI ) declared that this vaccine is halal or permissible for Muslims earlier this year .
Vaccine acceptance
There are two extreme groups on the perception of vaccination and especially the Covid-19 vaccine . The first group put all their faith in the vaccine to the extent that they will feel like they will die if they are not able to get it first .
Some are frantically searching for ways to get to the vaccine first . Many were even scammed by people who claim that they can sell the Covid-19 vaccine .
The other extreme end is the group that rejects vaccination altogether , citing conspiracies theories . Many are misinformed . Some Muslims believe that the vaccine is not halal , and the research was not performed correctly .
Ironically , they obtained such information from some misinformed Muslim scholars . It is essential to get correct data from experts on