UAE: New fatwa hotline to help docs answer patients' Covid vaccine questions

Abu Dhabi - To avail of the service, they can dial 02-2052500 from 8am to 8pm.

With a new hotline set up for their religious queries, frontline doctors in the UAE can now instantly get the help they need in addressing some patient concerns.

The UAE authorities on Tuesday announced the launch of a phone line called ‘Frontline Fatwa Service’, dedicated to answering frontliners’ religion-related questions. To avail of the service, they can dial 02-2052500 from 8am to 8pm. It is available in three languages- Arabic, Urdu and English.

“This is an excellent move. It will help ease our work as sometimes we have doubts when handling certain issues raised by patients,” said Dr Faisal Hamza Dalvi, a frontline doctor and internal medicine specialist at Burjeel Hospital in Abu Dhabi.

Dr Mohammed Salahuddin, from the emergency department of the NMC Royal Hospital in Sharjah. said they have been receiving several Covid vaccine questions that require answers from an Islamic scholar. “With the launch of the hotline dedicated for answering religious questions we may be having, it will be easy for us to seek guidance concerning certain issues raised by patients.”

Citing an example, Dr Dalvi said: “During the recently concluded holy month of Ramadan, I had many queries from diabetic patients. They had to take insulin injections, but some were worried it would break their fast.”

He noted that, sometimes, immediate guidance is required especially when the patients’ issues are critical to their health condition. “With such a service, we can just call the religious officials and get reliable answers.”

ismail@khaleejtimes.com