Indonesia President says 'vaccination won't be carried out in hurry' amid 'halal' concerns

President of Indonesia, the country with the world’s largest Muslim majority, Joko Widodo warned on October 19 that the nation shall not rush into rolling out vaccines for COVID-19 and cited his concerns over the awareness of citizens about whether they were ‘Halal’. As per Johns Hopkins University, Indonesia till now as confirmed more than 361,800 cases of novel coronavirus infections with over 12,000 deaths and is still reportedly struggling to control the spread of disease. 

Because it has been racing to secure a supply of COVID-19 vaccines that are still under development, the Indonesian government has reportedly faced backlash for seeking a solution in a haphazard manner without ensuring full safety and efficacy. However, on Monday, Widodo said in a statement that the COVID-19 vaccine requires “detailed and careful preparation” and assured that it will not be carried out in a hurry. This comes after some Indonesian ministers reportedly indicated that vaccines could be approved in the nation as early as November. 

Joko Widodo said, “The Covid-19 vaccine plan requires detailed and careful preparation. This vaccination will not be carried out in a hurry. Everything must be ready, including public communication regarding halal and haram, price, quality, and distribution.”

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Widodo cautions before long holiday

With a series of upcoming national holidays including ‘Maulud Nabi’, the birthday of Prophet Muhammad, Indonesian President noted that the country has an experience of witnessing a surge in COVID-19 cases after the holiday season. Therefore, Widodo said on October 19 that government officials shall anticipate the activities that would take place during the end of October to prevent an increase in positive cases of the disease. 

Widodo wrote on Twitter, “We have experienced that after a long holiday there was a rather high increase in positive cases of Covid-19. Therefore, I remind government officials to anticipate the long holiday activities at the end of this October, so that there should not be an increase in Covid-19 cases afterwards.”

Previously, Indonesia has reportedly vowed to vaccinate over 100 million people in 2021 of COVID-19 but Widodo assured on October 19 that scale of inoculation in an archipelagic country of at least 270 million would be challenging and thus adhered to a more cautious approach. 

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Image: AP