There are no components banned for Muslims in the composition of the vaccine against the new coronavirus Sputnik V, Vladimir Gushchin, the head of the Laboratory of Mechanisms of Population Variability of Pathogenic Microorganisms at the Gamaleya Research Center, said on Thursday.
"We, when we were preparing for the round table, accordingly, looked at what Islam primarily regulates, in particular, what concerns dead animals, pigs, what concerns blood and other things, everything listed, nothing is included in the vaccine. It would be very good if you could support us in disseminating this information, bringing it to people," he said at the round table "Vaccination against COVID-19 in the light of Islamic religious regulations".
Gushchin also noted that Sputnik V does not include culture media for the serum that is derived, for example, from animals. The recombinant proteins used in production are biotechnologically derived. "All of the components included, they are chemically defined. <...> The media we use, they are completely chemically defined, there are no components from any animals, sera or other," Gushchin assured.
Ethanol
The amount of ethanol used in the vaccine is 2.5 microliters, which allows Muslims to use it without violating the alcohol ban, Gushchin said.
"There is 2.5 microliters [of ethanol]. This is thousands of times less than endogenous ethanol is in the human body. <...> Ethanol is a byproduct of glucose metabolism, and it is naturally present in the body, that is, if you recalculate it to the weight of the average person, it is several milliliters of ethanol," he said.
Gushchin explained that ethanol was added to the vaccine so that the composition of the drug would be stable at elevated temperatures - 2 to 8 degrees Celsius. "When you open an ampoule, it seems to me personally that these 2.5 microliters just vaporize immediately," he added.
Earlier, Ildar Alyautdinov, deputy chairman of the Council of Ulema (theologians) of the Religious Board of Muslims of Russia and chairman of the Religious Board of Muslims of Moscow, told TASS that the council would request information from developers about the composition of Russian vaccines against coronavirus to determine the permissibility of its use by Muslims. In particular, the council is studying the composition of the Sputnik V vaccine developed by the Gamaleya center of the Ministry of Health. A fatwa (theological opinion) on the permissibility of the use of Sputnik V by Muslims is also expected.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: sputnikvaccine.com
Based on materials from TASS