TORONTO -- As Ramadan begins for millions of people across Canada and the world, Muslim doctors are reminding their Muslim patients that they can get the COVID-19 vaccine without breaking their fast.
The month-long observance, which kicks off next week, is marked by weeks of fasting, prayer, abstinence from specific habits, and reflection. From dawn to sunset, observers aren鈥檛 allowed to have food or water.
鈥淏ut people can take immunizations. It鈥檚 not a problem鈥 they don鈥檛 break your fast,鈥 Calgary-based family physician Dr. Islam Elawadly, who鈥檚 a practising Muslim himself, told CTVNews.ca in a phone interview.
Doctors tell CTVNews.ca that they field questions regarding vaccines every year, as some Muslim Canadians might incorrectly assume they contain sustenance -- which would violate a person鈥檚 fast.
But this year, 鈥渓ots of questions鈥 have been coming up during routine check-ups thanks to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic according to Dr. Fozia Alvi, a family physician and founder of , a non-profit group that provides medical supplies and health care to marginalized groups across the world.
鈥淪ometimes I feel there is some hesitancy for my Muslim patients if they鈥檙e allowed to get vaccines. So for the past couple of days I鈥檝e kind of been preparing them because this is a peak time,鈥 she said, referring to the steady rise of active cases across the country.
But vaccine hesitancy has been reported among different pockets of the general public, including within some racialized groups.
Both she and Elawadly explain that COVID-19 vaccines -- or any vaccine administered through the muscle -- aren鈥檛 forms of food.
Alvi explained not everyone should fast, including young children, women who are pregnant, or those who are sick.
鈥淚f you have COVID, you have the licence specifically not to fast because you鈥檙e sick,鈥 she said, advising people who want to fast to do so only if they have mild symptoms.
Elawadly further explained that -- according to , Islamic scholars and -- other accepted reasons to break a fast, include if a person is elderly, travelling, starving, or if they鈥檙e potentially feeling weak after taking a vaccine.
And side effects are expected, according to the , with some taking the COVID-19 vaccine have reported side effects such as a fever; fatigue; chills; headache; muscle pains, especially at the injection site.
Dr. Mukarram Ali Zaidi, an epidemiologist and family doctor who works in rural Alberta, says 鈥渋f they having a headache or have pain that cannot be tolerated, or they feel they鈥檙e about to vomit, then [it鈥檚] permissible to break their fast, and then they can make up for that fast after Ramadan.鈥
He praised about Ramadan held by the , which has been working with Imams and Muslim community leaders across the country to help tackle and explain what鈥檚 permissible during fasting.
Elawadly also encouraged people still on the fence in regards to fasting and vaccinations to reach out to their local mosque to confirm what many Imams and faith leaders around the world are saying.
All three doctors encouraged Muslims -- like everyone else 鈥 should get the jab if they鈥檙e eligible.
