Since the release of the new COVID-19 vaccine, a lot of questions and conspiracy theories have been spun about it. Is it effective or not? Does the vaccine have secret nano chips that affect human brains? Does it have materials that will eventually change our DNA?
A lot of Muslims, who are banned to eat pork, as it is mentioned in the Holy Quran amongst the forbidden list or as they call it ‘Haram,’ have raised the question whether the vaccine contains Pork-derived Gelatin voicing concerns about its Halal statue.
As companies race to develop a #COVID19 vaccine and countries scramble to secure doses, questions about the use of pork products has raised concerns about the possibility of disrupted immunization campaigns https://t.co/yHSKRxRCey
— Andreas Harsono (@andreasharsono) December 20, 2020
Islamic scholars are till this moment divided about the purity of COVID-19 vaccine. They said it must undergo rigorous chemical transformation before deciding the 'Halal or Haram' status of latest vaccines for Muslim communities.
Not just Muslims, but Jews, vegetarians and Vegans may also have an issue.
— ****** (@S40ghr) December 20, 2020
Can they certify that they are free of anything that screws with your DNA? Or that it will not make women fertile? Or any fetal tissue in them?
— Dickel_Hertz (@dickel_hertz) December 20, 2020
Vegans and Jews have also raised concerns about Covid-19 vaccine as it might carry animal products- pig gelatin.
Pfizer confirms there are no animal products in its Covid vaccine - in a response to a question put to me this morning regarding suitability for vegans on @bbc5live @rachelburden @NickyAACampbell
— Fergus Walsh (@BBCFergusWalsh) November 10, 2020
Concern among Muslims, Orthodox Jews over pork-derived gelatin in COVID-19 vaccine https://t.co/qIExaEcAH9
— Haaretz.com (@haaretzcom) December 20, 2020
Companies are usually developing vaccines using Pork-derived gelatin, which has been widely used as a stabilizer to ensure it remains safe and effective during storage and transport. However, other companies are trying to develop their own pork-free vaccines; such as Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis which has made up a pork-free meningitis vaccine, according to an AP report.
Nevertheless, current companies who are racing to develop COVID-19 vaccines, including Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca, admitted that their products don’t contain Pork-derived Gelatin.
I support Muslims on this. If tomorrow they say vaccine has cow meat, even Hindus would have thought twice.
— Somesh Bahuguna (@somesshbahuguna) December 20, 2020
Muslims worried about halal, Christians worried about nano chip, but Hindus worried about price.
— Srinivas Prusty (@srinivasprusty) December 20, 2020
This debate was not limited to Muslims, but also Christians; yet, from a totally different perspective. In the past years, the Vatican was debating the fact that most companies develop vaccines using cells derived from aborted fetuses, while abortion is declared a grave sin according to the Catholic Chruch.
On the other hand, according to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the watchdog office of the vatican; Pope Francis had examined last week and announced that it is 'morally acceptable' for Roman Catholics to receive COVID vaccines.
Flash: Vatican's doctrinal office issues note saying it is "morally acceptable" for Catholics to use #covid vaccines derived from fetal cell lines when other vaccines are not available.
— Joshua McElwee (@joshjmac) December 21, 2020
Vatican says covid vaccine made from aborted fetal tissues is ethical - I’m done with the Catholic Church !!!
— Elizabeth Core (@EllaCoreleone) December 21, 2020
People are likely to maintain sharing and making up several conspiracy theories and judgments about coronavirus and its vaccines, as till this moment none of the vaccines proved 100% effectiveness against the horrible virus.
So far, the world has registered 77.4 million cases and 43.7 million recoveries compared to 1.7 million deaths.
