A British group calls for the development of a halal flu vaccine

A Muslim group from the United Kingdom has called for the development of a halal flu vaccine after the government said the current nasal spray was unpopular in areas with a Muslim majority.

The Muslim Council of Britain stated that Fluenz, which is to be administered to all British children aged 2 to 10 years from the month of August, was not halal because it contains the gelatin from pigs.

Fluenz has been credited with a significant drop in the number of influenza cases and has been progressively deployed since 2013. But its use in predominantly Muslim areas has been "significantly lower," Public Health England said.

"Vaccine uptake is significantly and independently badociated with increasing deprivation, ethnicity and areas where the largest Muslim populations live," the body said in a document accessed by The telegraph.

Last year, PHE declared that there was no "appropriate alternative" to Fluenz Tetra "for healthy children". There are injectable flu shots that do not contain gelatin, but they are not as effective and are "recommended only as part of the program for children and adults at high risk of flu complications."

Dr. Shuja Shafi, Chair of the MCB Research and Documentation Committee, said The telegraph he would continue to inform the parents that Fluenz was "not acceptable in Islam".

"We consulted the experts and here is their opinion, since then we have been providing people with the information they need to make an opinion," he said.

"We need another halal vaccine that can be offered to all, and we urge the government and the industry to make that happen."

Gelatin is used as a stabilizer to ensure that the vaccine remains safe and effective during storage. Health authorities warned that replacing the stabilizer of a vaccine would require "extensive laboratory and clinical studies".

"For this reason, developing a new safe and effective vaccine with a different stabilizer may take several years or may never happen."

Many Jewish communities said that the spray was acceptable because it did not get caught by the mouth.