Published 11:57 IST, March 4th 2021
US Church bishops ask Catholics not to get Johnson & Johnson vaccine
US church bishops warned that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine formula was invented using a cell line that was created from an aborted fetus.
- World News
- 2 min read
Roman Catholic leaders in St. Louis and New Orleans have been advising the Catholics to avoid getting jabbed with the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine alleging that it is 'morally compromised'. The Bishops have been discouraging the church members from being inoculated saying that the vaccine formula was invented using a cell line that was created from an aborted fetus. At the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend, chairman of USCCB, issued a statement questioning the manufacturing process of the jabs as he raised moral and ethical concerns.
“The approval of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine for use in the United States again raises questions about the moral permissibility of using vaccines developed, tested, and/or produced with the help of abortion-derived cell lines,” Rhoades said.
Pfizer and Moderna’s vaccines, Rhoades added, used aborted fetus cells in the testing process but not in production. “Johnson & Johnson vaccine, however, was developed, tested, and is produced with abortion-derived cell lines,” the Bishop told the gatherers. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, additionally, instated that because the vaccine was ethically irreproachable, it may not be an option to get inoculated. “If one has the ability to choose a vaccine, Pfizer or Moderna’s vaccines should be chosen over Johnson & Johnson’s,” the congregation asserted, adding that there must be a push to prohibit the Pharma companies from using abortion-derived cell lines.
Meets FDA expectations
The US Food and Drug Administration recently issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) for the Johnson&Johnson vaccine, which is the third approved for the prevention of coronavirus. Biden administration allowed the use of the Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine for all individuals aged 18 and older, stating that the vaccine was safe to use and “has met the statutory criteria” for approval. The FDA had earlier said in a release that it can assure the public that Janssen COVID-19 jab was approved following a thorough investigation of its effectiveness and manufacturing quality information. According to the pharmaceutical firm, the vaccine was manufactured using a specific type of virus called adenovirus type 26 (Ad26), which delivers the DNA strand, or the genetic material which makes the distinctive “spike” protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. "FDA’s scientists and physicians have determined that the vaccine meets the FDA’s expectations,” the firm asserted.
Updated 11:57 IST, March 4th 2021