Digital Marian Helper Magazine Spring 2021

4 M arian H elper • S pring 2021 • marian . org The vaccines You probably have questions T o control the spread of COVID-19, nations around the world are now in the midst of the largest vaccination effort in history. As is the case with many widely used vaccines — and many widely used pharmaceuticals, for that matter —we cannot positively say that any of the approved COVID-19 vaccines are entirely free from any connection to abortion. (The two vaccines approved so far in the United States, Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, did not use fetal cells in their production. However, to validate the effectiveness of the vaccines, both reportedly were tested using fetal cell lines from decades ago.) For Catholics —we who give preeminent priority to defending innocent human life, especially the lives of children in the womb — this can be a complex and confusing topic. The following is a crash course on the COVID-19 vaccines and the Church’s stance on their use. We ask that you give this a careful read and take it all to prayer.