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Flu vaccines and pork gelatine – a Muslim issue?

Flu vaccines and pork gelatine – a Muslim issue?

Categories: Latest News

Friday November 21 2014

BBC News reports on the reaction of some Muslim parents in Lancashire to a nasal spray administered to young children as a preventative measure against flu which contains pork gelatine.

The nasal spray, which was earlier piloted in Glasgow and Leicestershire faced negative reaction from Muslim parents there too who objected to the presence of a pork derivative in the product.

The BBC story is exclusively focussed on Muslim communities. The story on the website canvasses the views of Muslim parents and of Dr Shuja Shafi, General Secretary of the Muslim Council of Britain and Abdul Hamid Qureshi from Lancashire Council of Mosques.

Absent from its coverage on the immunisation programme which will be rolled out to cover “potentially all children between the ages of two and 16…each year” is the possible objection by other faith groups, such as Jews, to the presence of an ingredient which is impermissible according to dietary law.

BBC News, much like newspapers that have covered the issue of halal meat, looks at the presence of pork gelatine as though it were a problem for Muslim parents only.

Would it too much to expect the public sector broadcaster to be more responsible in its coverage and not single out Muslims?

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