PUTRAJAYA – The AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine does not contain any animal derivatives or restricted materials, said Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba.
The health minister, in a statement today, said the company has issued a statement declaring that the jab, also known as AZD1222, does not contain animal-derived products, and all excipients are of vegetable origin.
AZD1222 also does not contain any restricted materials – namely porcine-derived materials, gelatine of porcine origin, animal-derived glycerin, stearic acid, lactose, products derived from shellfish or non-scaly fish, and wheat starch.
It was reported that the Indonesian Ulama Council posted on its website that the AstraZeneca vaccine is haram, or forbidden for Muslims, as its manufacturing process uses “trypsin from pig pancreas”.
In response, AstraZeneca said its vaccine does not contain pork-derived ingredients.
Dr Adham said porcine trypsin was used only during the development of the T-REx-293 cell line.
It was not in direct contact with the actual cell banks used in the manufacturing process, he said, and so, not deemed present in the product.
“Nevertheless, AstraZeneca has to provide test results to confirm that there is no residual porcine material in the final product as one of the registration conditions.”
He said the Health Ministry is committed to ensuring the quality, safety and effectiveness of vaccines.
On Wednesday, Dr Adham said the AstraZeneca jab is safe for use in Malaysia.
He said safety data obtained from clinical studies on the vaccine, involving 12,000 volunteers, as of November 4 last year showed no serious side effects.
The vaccine was approved for registration by the Drug Control Authority on March 2. – Bernama, March 26, 2021
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