![]() ![]() Several COVID-19 vaccine frontrunners, including those being developed by Moderna, Oxford University/AstraZeneca, CanSino Biologics/Beijing Institute of Biotechnology, and Inovio Pharmaceuticals, are using a human fetal kidney cell line called HEK-293 to develop their trial vaccines. Several more candidates are expected to begin clinical trials before the end of the year. Of these, 10 vaccine candidates have already advanced to clinical trials to test the vaccine candidate’s safety and efficacy. Pharmaceutical companies are sprinting to have a vaccine ready by the end of the year or by early 2021.Īccording to a tracker from the World Health Organization, there are now more than 120 vaccine candidates in development. From big pharma to small biotech companies and universities, researchers have been pushing out dozens of vaccine candidates and have fast-tracked promising vaccine candidates to clinical trials in record time. With more than 6.2 million reported cases so far and more than 375,000 deaths worldwide, the burden of disease from the 2019 novel coronavirus continues to mount. The bad news is that many of the leading vaccine candidates for the 2019 novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV2) are being developed using fetal cell lines that were originally derived from the tissues of aborted babies in the 1970s and 80s. The good news is that many of the world’s largest vaccine companies are developing promising vaccine candidates using ethically-derived cells. ![]() This cell line is used because it is a well-studied industry standard for safe and reliable production of viral vector vaccines.The race is on to find a vaccine for COVID-19. ( Learn more about how viral vector vaccines work.) All PER.C6 cells used to manufacture the Johnson & Johnson vaccine are descended from tissue taken from a 1985 abortion that took place in the Netherlands. To make the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, scientists infect PER.C6 fetal cell lines to grow the adenovirus vector. Using fetal cell lines to test the effectiveness and safety of medications is common practice, because they provide a consistent and well-documented standard.įor the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, fetal cell lines were used in the production and manufacturing stage. All HEK 293 cells are descended from tissue taken from a 1973 abortion that took place in the Netherlands. ![]() When it comes to the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines, fetal cell line HEK 293 was used during the research and development phase. Vaccine makers may use these fetal cell lines during the following two phases: They do not contain any tissue from a fetus. Current fetal cell lines are thousands of generations removed from the original fetal tissue. Those individual cells from the 1970s and 1980s have since multiplied into many new cells over the past four or five decades, creating the fetal cell lines I mentioned above. They descend from cells taken from abortions in the 1970s and 1980s. Now, let’s break down the scienceįetal cell lines are cells that grow in a laboratory. Read the Vatican's comments on the morality of receiving a COVID-19 vaccine. The Vatican has issued clear guidance that permits Roman Catholics in good faith to receive COVID-19 vaccines that use fetal cell lines in development or production. We need to focus on saving lives right now. However, the description of ongoing modern fetal tissue harvesting to create vaccines is dishonest sensationalism.Īs a practicing Catholic, I think the moral balance of indirectly benefitting from an abortion that occurred 50 years ago in order to take a vaccine that will prevent further death in the community is a no-brainer – especially considering that so many of the over 620,000 American deaths have occurred in the most vulnerable and marginalized in our society. It is true that decades ago, scientists decided to use fetal tissue to start the cell lines we use to test drugs today. Before we dig into the science, I’d like to have a word However, fetal cell lines – cells grown in a laboratory based on aborted fetal cells collected generations ago – were used in testing during research and development of the mRNA vaccines, and during production of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. No, the COVID-19 vaccines do not contain any aborted fetal cells. Lawler and further clarify some parts of the article that were causing confusion.ĭo the COVID-19 vaccines contain aborted fetal cells? Answer from infectious disease expert and practicing Catholic James Lawler, MD It was updated on March 2, 2021, to include information about the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, and on August 18, 2021, to include a personal note from Dr. This article was originally published December 28, 2020. ![]()
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