Vice President Ma'ruf Amin said the permit from the Food and Drug Supervisory Agency (BPOM) and the fatwa of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) for the COVID-19 vaccine must have been issued before vaccinating Indonesian people.

"The vaccine is already there and is being examined (clinical trial) in Beijing. There is already a joint team from BPOM and from MUI. Later, before vaccination, (permits and fatwas) must first come out," Ma'ruf Amin said while reviewing the COVID-19 vaccination simulation in Cikarang Utara, Bekasi, West Java, Thursday.

The fatwa from the MUI, continued Ma'ruf Amin, could fall into two categories, namely the halal COVID-19 vaccine or pandemic emergency conditions that allow vaccination even though it is not yet halal.

"The ability of MUI can be because it (the vaccine) is lawful or because it is basically an emergency. What is important is that MUI as an authority institution will issue its fatwa on this matter," he added.

Ma'ruf added that clinical trials, permits, and fatwas against the COVID-19 vaccine were preparations made by the Government to ensure vaccination for the Indonesian people went well and without obstacles.

"So this preparation is really thorough, so that when the vaccination occurs there will be no obstacles whatsoever," he said.

Vaccines can be injected into the public if they have an emergency use authorization (EUA), which is a temporary permit issued for the use of certain medical methods or products.

EUA guidelines are issued by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) based on recommendations and related information data.

Meanwhile, BPOM RI has confirmed that the EUA for the COVID-19 vaccine in Indonesia can be obtained as early as January 2021.

Indonesia has been eyeing several vaccine candidates from a number of countries, including those made by Sinovac from China. The Sinovac vaccine has now entered the third phase of clinical trials and has been audited by a team from BPOM and MUI in Beijing, China.

In the first phase, as many as three million vaccines will be imported to Indonesia, which will be prioritized for health workers, members of the National Army and National Police, as well as people who are directly handling COVID-19. (Antaranews)