Roman Catholic leaders in Long Island have slammed Johnson and Johnson for advising the faithful not to take the COVID-19 vaccine because the shot is produced using a cell line taken from a fetus.
Diocci of Rockville Center recently joined several others around the country and the American Conference of Catholic Bishops in discouraging parishioners from receiving single-dose shots.
The Diocese, home to 1.4 million Catholics, did not prohibit the Jammu and Kashmir vaccine, but said “on moral grounds,” other vaccines from Pfizer and Modern were preferred, if available.
The head of Long Island’s Episcopal Church said the message from the diocese was careless and misleading.
“It scares people. It questions whether they are doing the morally right thing, “the Right Rev. Lawrence Provenzano Told NBC4. “And in this instance, when some people’s health and safety is at stake, I think it was a mistake.”
Northwell Health’s Chief of Medicine, Drs. David Batanelli told the outlet that the way the Jammu and Kashmir shot has been produced is “a very common variety, not exclusive to vaccines.”
The shot is made with a harmless cold virus, called adenovirus, called an immortalized cell line, which was created several decades before the use of fetal tissue.
Those embryonic cell lines are widely used in medical construction, but the cells in them today are clones of early cells, not native tissue.
The pharmaceutical giant released a statement last week, saying its vaccine did not contain any fetal tissue.
Both Pfizer and Modern vaccines also used embryonic cell lines in the development or production of their vaccines.
But in December, the Vatican said that ethically using cell lines from fetal embryos to obtain the COVID-19 vaccine in the research and production process when “morally irrelevant” vaccines became available to the public. is acceptable.
Pope Francis said in January that “I believe that everyone should be vaccinated morally.” It is a moral choice because it is about your life, but also about the lives of others. ” According to the National Catholic Reporter.
Health experts warn that full immunization should be available to Americans against COVID-19.
“All three are actually quite good,” Dr. Anthony Fauci said On NBC’s “Meet the Press” Last month. “People should take what is most available to them.”
“If you go to a place and you have J & J, and it’s available now, I’ll take it,” said Fauci. “I have to do the same thing personally. I think people need to be vaccinated as soon as possible.”
With post wires
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