Covid-19 vaccine can be taken during Ramadan

Following concerns posed ahead of Ramadan, British Islamic medical groups said that receiving the COVID-19 vaccine would not break a Muslim’s fast.

“Taking the COVID-19 vaccines currently licensed in the UK does not invalidate the fast, as per the opinion of Islamic scholars. Individuals should not delay their COVID vaccinations on the account of Ramadan,” the British Islamic Medical Association said in a statement.

“Subcutaneous, subdermal, intramuscular, interosseous, or intra-articular injections for non-nutritional purposes whilst fasting does not invalidate the fast, regardless of the injected content entering the blood circulation. These routes are not classed as entry sites that would invalidate the fast. Receiving the COVID-19 vaccine as an intramuscular injection, the only route for the vaccines currently available, therefore does not invalidate the fast,” the medical association added in its statement.

Ramadan, the holiest month in the Islamic calendar, will begin on April 12 and end on May 12 this year. From dawn to sunset, more than 1.5 billion Muslims around the world will observe the month.

Fasting is also one of Islam’s five pillars during the month of Ramadan. Following that is the Eid al-Fitr holiday.

The Fatwa Council of the United Arab Emirates, the country’s highest Islamic authority, released a ruling in December authorising Muslims to obtain coronavirus vaccines despite the fact that they contain “non-halal ingredients” like pork gelatin.

Pfizer, Moderna, and AstraZeneca spokespersons have confirmed that pork products are not used in their COVID-19 vaccines. According to the Associated Press, due to a lack of supply and pre-existing agreements worth millions of dollars with other firms, some countries with significant Muslim populations, such as Indonesia, will obtain vaccines that have not yet been verified as gelatin-free.