to introduce halal certification for Covid-19 vaccine to avoid quarters from doubting its halal status and use it as an excuse to refuse the vaccination .

President of the Malay sian Pharmaceutical Association Amrahi Buang said the halal issue of vaccines should not be disputed , as currently , most of the Covid-19 vaccines are animal origin free , with some of them being certified halal by some countries .

“ As such , we can ascertain the vaccine is halal , the next step is to introduce the halal certification ... if we do that , it is better , and this can be done by Pharmaniaga or Duopharma which are responsible for obtaining and supplying the Covid-19 vaccine doses for the country ," he said in the programme Koresponden , which was aired on Bernama TV recently .

He said the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine , sold under the brand name Comirnaty , for example , is developed using a new technology , known as the messenger ribonucleic acid ( mRNA ), and is animal origin free .

As for the Covid-19 vaccine produced by a Chinese pharmaceutical company , Sinovac , he said , it had been certified halal by the Indonesian Ulama Council , with authorities from the republic having gone to China to see for themselves the contents of the vaccine .

Quality , safety and effectiveness

He said Minister in the Prime Minister ’ s Department ( Religious Affairs ) Datuk Seri Dr Zulkifli Mohamad Al-Bakri

recently informed that the Special Muzakarah Committee of the National Council for the National Council for the Islamic Religious Affairs , which convened its meeting last Dec 3 , had agreed that the use of the Covid-19 vaccine is compulsory ( wajib ) for groups that have been identified by the government and permissible ( harus ) for others .

Amrahi said it is illogical to say that the Covid-19 vaccine that will be used in the country is not safe as the safety aspects of taking the Covid-19 vaccination have always been given priority by the government .

“ Any vaccine that is brought into the Malaysian market , it must be registered and approved by the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency ( NPRA ) ... whereby , in the registration process , three things have to be complied with , namely quality , safety and effectiveness .

“ Like any medicines , including vaccines , when it enters the body , the acceptance and response of every individual is different ... that is why , monitoring of the side effects is necessary and it should be reported to the NPRA if there are adverse effects of the vaccine ,” he added .

Halal vaccine hub

Meanwhile , Science , Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said Malaysia could capitalise on its Covid-19 vaccination efforts by becoming a regional hub for halal vaccines catering to Muslim countries .

He said Malaysia was approached by vaccine producers wanting to position Malaysia as a hub for Southeast Asia and

The halal issue of vaccines should not be disputed , as currently , most of the Covid-19 vaccines are animal origin free , with some of them being certified halal by some countries , said Amrahi Buang .

As long as they get necessary regulatory approval , seems to be safe and adhere to good practices , then Malaysia seems to be capable of being the hub for South- East Asia and other Muslim countries .”

– Khairy Jamaluddin

other Muslim markets around the world because its well-regulated and stringent halal certifications , he said at a recent Press conference .

Khairy said among those that have expressed such an interest were Russian sovereign wealth funds , investors from India as well as companies related to vaccine producers in China . Investments in that area , he said , would boost Malaysia ’ s pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry .

However , any company looking to invest and set up a base in Malaysia would first need to get approval from the NPRA .

“ As long as they get necessary regulatory approval , seems to be safe and adhere to good practices , then Malaysia seems to be capable of being the hub for South-East Asia and other Muslim countries ,” he said . — The Health