Egypt's Dar al-Ifta Authorizes Use of COVID-19 Vaccine Containing Pork Components

A member of the medical team sprays disinfectant for the COVID-19 outbreak at a metro station in Cairo, Egypt. (Reuters)
A member of the medical team sprays disinfectant for the COVID-19 outbreak at a metro station in Cairo, Egypt. (Reuters)
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Egypt's Dar al-Ifta Authorizes Use of COVID-19 Vaccine Containing Pork Components

A member of the medical team sprays disinfectant for the COVID-19 outbreak at a metro station in Cairo, Egypt. (Reuters)
A member of the medical team sprays disinfectant for the COVID-19 outbreak at a metro station in Cairo, Egypt. (Reuters)

Egypt’s Dar al-Ifta said the coronavirus vaccine, which is said to contain a porcine substance, is not forbidden according to the Islamic Sharia as long as this substance has been transformed into another one.

In a fatwa issued on Saturday, Dar al-Ifta said the porcine substance has been transformed into another during the manufacturing process of the vaccine, and thus there is no judgment based on the impurity that it once was.

In this regard, Dar el Iftaa has allowed people to be treated by the vaccine when its manufacturing substance is transformed.

Also, Al-Azhar issued a fatwa prohibiting the violation of the precautions issued by authorities to curb the spread of the virus.

Al-Azhar Fatwa Global Center renewed its warning against violating the preventive measures after the country reported a spike in infections.

The Center reiterated Saturday that citizens must abide by the measures and the instructions of the Health Ministry, issued to limit the spread of the coronavirus.

It warned that the virus can harm those who don’t follow the precautions, as well as their families and people they meet or work with.

The Health Ministry also reiterated that it was necessary to clean and sterilize mosques throughout the country and ensure that worshipers maintain social distance while toilets and shrines remain closed.

Egypt recorded on Saturday 1,133 new coronavirus cases, bringing the country’s total number of confirmed cases to 130,126.

The Ministry reported in a statement that 49 patients have also died from the virus over the past 24 hours, raising the death toll to 7,309.



Gaza Rescuers Say 72 Killed by Israeli Fire

Smoke billows after an Israeli strike in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on June 19, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
Smoke billows after an Israeli strike in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on June 19, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
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Gaza Rescuers Say 72 Killed by Israeli Fire

Smoke billows after an Israeli strike in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on June 19, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
Smoke billows after an Israeli strike in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on June 19, 2025. (Photo by AFP)

Gaza's civil defense agency said Israeli fire killed at least 72 people in the Palestinian territory on Thursday, including 21 who had gathered to receive aid in central and southern Gaza.

Updating an earlier figure, civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP the death toll had risen to 72, "due to the ongoing Israeli bombardment on the Gaza Strip since dawn today -- 21 of them were waiting for aid.”

The Israeli army told AFP that troops had fired "warning shots" at "suspects" approaching them in the Netzarim area where the civil defense agency said 15 people were killed waiting for aid, but that it was "not aware of any injured individuals.”