Meningtis Vaccination Not Allowed Except Emergency Cases, Says MUI
JAKARTA, July 23 (Bernama) — The Indonesian Ulema
Council (MUI) said the use of swine-enzyme-containing meningitis
vaccine should be banned, and only to be allowed for those doing an
obligatory haj pilgrimage.
Its Chairman KH Ma ‘ruf Amin, in stressing that the vaccine itself
a ban product, said the meningitis vaccine should be used in emergency
cases only, Indonesia’s Antara news agency reported Thursday.
He made these remarks at a seminar on Reinforcement of Indonesian Halal Certification Institution.
“The use of meningitis vaccine is allowed for those doing an
obligatory haj pilgrimage (those making the pilgrimage for the first
time). The meningitis vaccine was haram for those not making the haj
pilgrimage for the first time, or those conducting the minor haj
pilgrimage,” he added.
However, the MUI chairman said that the use of the meningitis
vaccine was also allowed for those doing the minor haj pilgrimage with
`nazar` (after a prayer is granted).
He said that the minor haj was an obligatory one if someone
previously had a nazar to do so once his or her prayer was answered.
Ma`ruf said that Saudi Arabia itself was previously not informed
of the fact that the meningitis vaccine contained a swine enzyme, so
that the country still had to discuss it.
He said that MUI could not wait for the result of the Saudi
meeting on the vaccine because Indonesian would-be hajj pilgrims this
year would already be required to pay their pilgrimage fare this July.
“So, we must decide it first while Saudi Arabia has not. They have
not issued any decision (with regard to the swine vaccine),” he said.
Therefore, MUI called on the government to prepare a halal
meningitis vaccine for haj pilgrims for the next hajj season in 2010.
The halal meningitis vaccine could be produced at home or the
government should seek for other countries which would produce halal
meningitis for the Indonesian haj pilgrims.
He said that MUI was studying a meningitis vaccine produced by
China or by the United States whether it was halal or not. If it turned
out not to contain a swine enzyme, then it could be used by Indonesia.
The MUI made the edict on the meningitis vaccine on July 16, 2009
but the MUI chairman for the edict commission had yet to sign it.
