Are human fetal cells used to make vaccines?

Are human fetal cells used to make vaccines? 

 

Some vaccines are made by growing the vaccine viruses in human fetal cell lines. However, the vaccines themselves do not contain fetal cells or tissue. The purification process removes nearly all the cell components so that only trace amounts of DNA and protein may be found in the vaccine. 

Fetal cell lines are used to test and develop many common over-the-counter and prescribed medications, including antacids and cold medications.

 

Why are fetal cell lines used?

 

Fetal cell lines are used with some vaccines because viruses need to be grown in cells, and human cells are often better than animal cells at supporting the growth of human viruses. Vaccine manufacturers may use these fetal cell lines during the following two phases:  

 

Fetal cell lines are used in scientific and medical research and in the research and development of most medical products available today.

 

What are fetal cell lines?

 

Fetal cell lines are cells that are grown in a laboratory. They descend from cells taken from fetuses aborted in the 1970s and 1980s that have since multiplied into many new cells over the past four or five decades, creating the fetal cell lines. The fetuses were not aborted to make vaccines. Current fetal cell lines are thousands of generations removed from the original fetal tissue. They do not contain any tissue from a fetus. 

 

What vaccines used in Canada are made by growing the vaccine viruses in fetal cells?

 

There are two COVID-19 vaccines authorized for use in Canada that are made using fetal cells: the AstraZeneca (VaxzevriaTM) vaccine and the Johnson & Johnson (JanssenTM) vaccine. Although fetal cells are not used to make the Moderna (SpikevaxTM) and Pfizer-BioNTech (ComirnatyTM) COVID-19 vaccines, they were used in the very early stages of development of these vaccines to test 'proof of concept’ (to test that the vaccines could work). Find more information on fetal cells and COVID-19 vaccines. 

 

What does the Catholic church say about the use of fetal cell lines in vaccines?

 

The Vatican's Pontifical Academy for Life declared in 2005 and reaffirmed in 2017 that in the absence of alternatives, Catholics could, in good conscience, receive vaccines made using historical human fetal cell lines. In December 2020, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith provided a note on the morality of using some anti-COVID-19 vaccines.

 

 

Where can I find more information?