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Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Novartis claims meningitis vaccine ‘halal’

Pharmaceutical manufacturer PT Novartis Indonesia has said that its meningitis vaccine for the hajj pilgrimage is halal (allowed by Islam teachings) after receiving a certificate from the Islamic Service of America.

“We received the certificate in January,” company spokeswoman Wanda Harahap said Tuesday, as quoted by kompas.com.

Last Wednesday, several academicians questioned the status of meningitis vaccines produced by Novartis Indonesia and China-based Zheiyiang Tianjuan. Based on several pieces of literature, the two vaccines are haram (prohibited by Islam teachings) because they used substances made from swine, Yarsi Foundation chief Jurnalis Uddin said.

Nevertheless, the Indonesian Ulemas Council (MUI) has declared the two vaccines halal.

Therefore, she did not want to fall into an endless controversy on meningitis vaccine, Wanda said.

“We have gone through a long process to make sure that our vaccines have met halal requirements,” she added.

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