Arab News Japan

TOKYO: The Indonesian Ulema Council, the country’s top Islamic body, has deemed China’s Sinovac COVID-19 vaccines permissible under Islamic law, Japan’s Nikkei Shimbun has reported.

The approval will boost the government’s mass vaccination plans, which will start to be implemented next week.

Nikkei reported that the council, known as MUI, said China’s Sinovac Biotech vaccines are “holy and halal” on the day that Indonesia registered its highest ever daily increase in COVID-19 cases. Approval is vital in Indonesia where religion has clashed with vaccination attempts in the past due to products containing substances derived from pigs.

Earlier, the Indonesian government said it will not begin administering COVID-19 vaccines without a fatwa or a decision about the halal status of the vaccines from MUI.

Indonesia reported 10,617 new cases on Friday, taking the cumulative total to 808,340 confirmed cases. This is the first time that the country has reported a daily increase above 10,000. There were 233 additional deaths reported, taking the total to 23,753.

The country has received 3 million doses of the Sinovac vaccine and as of Wednesday 1.2 million doses had been distributed to 34 provinces, according to the paper. The government is planning to begin its mass vaccination program next Wednesday, starting with President Joko Widodo followed by healthcare workers.

The health ministry has set a target of vaccinating 181 million of Indonesia’s 270 million people in 12 months to reach herd immunity.