COVID-19 vaccine will not invalidate Ramadan fast: Awqaf
With just a few weeks separating us from the Holy month of Ramadan, Qatar’s Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs (Awqaf) has clarified a common query regarding receiving the COVID-19 vaccine during fasting.
In a post on its official Twitter account, the Ministry said that the COVID-19 vaccination does not invalidate the fast.
Deputy Head of the Court of Cassation in the Supreme Judiciary Council and Head of Shariah Committee at Awqaf, Sheikh Dr Thaqil bin Sayer Al Shammari, explained that the vaccine does not break the fast as it is taken intramuscularly and does not reach the stomach through a regular route.
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Accordingly, the committee said, “it is permissible to take the vaccine against the virus (COVID-19) during the day in Ramadan for a fasting person.”
“If the fasting person needs to take it during the day in Ramadan, this does not break his fast, because the injections are taken under the skin, intramuscularly,” Dr Al Shammari added.
Ramadan, which is one of the holiest months of the Islamic calendar, is expected to begin by mid-April, depending on the sighting of the moon.
In recent months, several other Muslim scholars and religious leaders have affirmed that it is permissible to take the COVID-19 vaccine when fasting and will not nullify the Ramadan fast.
Qatar has been successfully running its National COVID-19 Vaccination Program since December 2020.
Under the first phase of the program (earlier announced to run until March this year), priority is for the elderly, long-term care and home care patients (aged 70 and above), people with severe or multiple conditions, healthcare professionals (in facilities designated for COVID-19 patients), and key personnel and first responders.
Recently, teachers and school administration staff were added to the current priority list and a temporary COVID-19 Vaccination Center was launched at Qatar National Convention Center (QNCC) to accelerate the vaccination drive.
A drive-through vaccination facility was also introduced for people to take their second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
As the country looks to further expand the scale of its vaccination program, MoPH has also reduced the age limit for the COVID-19 vaccine eligibility to 50 years.
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