24/7 vax boost urged for Muslim holiday

With the start of Ramadan approaching, Manhattan resident Ahsia Badi felt some reservations about getting her second COVID shot.

Badi, 48, was concerned about what would happen if there were side effects from the dose while she was fasting during daytime hours — a key part of the annual Muslim ritual.

After speaking with a doctor, Badi is going ahead with her second shot in the coming weeks but supports recent calls for the city to expand the number of 24/7 vaccine sites to accommodate Muslims who will be abstaining from food and water from next Monday through May 12.

“There are folks that I still think will be hesitant to … get a shot during their fasting time because they may worry about how they’ll feel when they’re getting their shot,” Badi told the Daily News on Tuesday. “Having the option to do so when they’ve broken their fast in the evenings will give them some flexibility if they want to take a drink or eat something.”

There are currently six 24/7 vaccination sites across the city. Councilmen Mark Levine (D-Manhattan) and Daneek Miller (D-Queens) called on Mayor de Blasio to increase that number.

“While some Muslim observers of Ramadan may choose to get vaccinations during designated periods of fasting, many have expressed concern over experiencing side effects of the vaccines (nausea, vomiting, light-headedness) during these periods, which may lead them to break their fast or forgo it completely,” the duo wrote Hizzoner on Tuesday. “It is unfair to force Muslim New Yorkers to make this choice,” they added.

Asked for comment, de Blasio’s office was noncommittal on opening more 24/7 sites.