Moral Guidance on COVID-19 Vaccines

As COVID-19 vaccines begin to be distributed, we as Catholics must weigh various factors in our practical decision on whether to accept vaccination. Among these considerations are questions of morality, especially as we confront the reality that currently available vaccines have some connection to a past abortion through the use of a cell line derived from that evil act. As we assess the moral aspects of possibly accepting a COVID-19 vaccine, we have recourse both to a longstanding intellectual and moral tradition and to advisory and authoritative guidance from the Church. (You can access links to relevant Church and bioethical sources under the  "Helpful Links" below.)

1. We may morally receive the currently available COVID-19 vaccines.
2. We are not morally obligated to take a COVID-19 vaccine.
3. We should advocate for more ethical research and pharmaceutical development.

For more details on these three points, click on the section headers below.

Bishop Daly recognizes that moral considerations are but one factor that we must weigh in our personal decision to accept or decline vaccination. Medical questions, matters of safety and potential suseptibility to side effects, and the balancing of risks versus benefits must play into any decision involving a medical intervention, including vaccination. The purpose and scope of Bishop Daly's guidance and the supplemental resources provided by the diocese is to outline and inform the moral principles relevant to this decision. Further discussion of the underlying moral principles can be found here.

The Church teaches that it is morally permissible for Catholics to receive COVID-19 vaccines,  and it has provided general principles on the reception of vaccines that can guide us in this specific situation. When choosing to accept a COVID-19 vaccine, we should follow these moral principles:

1. We should opt for a vaccine that has the least connection with abortion as possible. Ideally, that would mean taking a vaccine with no connections to abortion at all. However, in situations when no such vaccines are readily available, it is morally acceptable to take a vaccine with a lesser connection to past abortions. For more information on the moral and bioethical concepts behind this guidance, click here.
2. If we accept a vaccine with some connection to abortion, we ought to voice our moral objection to the ongoing use of abortion-derived cell lines in the making of these vaccines and other health products. For practical guidance on how to make this advocate for ethical research, including a model letter and contact information for pharmaceutical companies, click here.

Although various Church authorities have encouraged the taking of COVID-19 vaccines as morally permissible and highlighted how vaccination can contribute to the common good during a pandemic, it is not morally obligatory for Catholics to receive such a vaccine. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) in its note on the morality of these vaccines states, "practical reason makes evident that vaccination is not, as a rule, a moral obligation and that, therefore, it must be voluntary."

At the same time, those who decline vaccination should take appropriate measures to ensure that they do not contribute to the spread of disease. The CDF says in the same document quoted above, "Those who, however, for reasons of conscience, refuse vaccines produced with cell lines from aborted fetuses, must do their utmost to avoid, by other prophylactic means and appropriate behavior, becoming vehicles for the transmission of the infectious agent."

We should also note that people who have medical conditions that contraindicate the reception of the vaccine should not take it. Medical considerations such as these should be guided by one's health care provider. Those who cannot accept a vaccine due to medical reasons should also be attentive to the need to maintain appropriate infection control measures.

The Catholic Church has pointed out the importance of advocating for ethical change in the area of biomedical research, especially when standing practices are an affront to human dignity. For instance, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith writes in Dignitatis personae (n. 35), "everyone has the duty to make known their disagreement [to the use of abortion-derived cell lines] and to ask that their healthcare system make other types of vaccines available."

Bishop Daly encourages two practical forms of advocacy:

1. Directly contacting the pharamceutical companies that use abortion-derived cell lines to voice our moral objection.
2. Financially supporting research institutions like the John Paul II Medical Research Institute that are working to develop technologies to reduce and eliminate the biomedical industry's reliance on ethically problematic materials.