The Chairs of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishop's Committees on Doctrine and on Pro-Life Activitiesreleased a statement on Tuesday March 2, 2021 following the FDA's emergency approval of Johnson and Johnson COVID-19 Vaccine. This statement was released as a result of confusion from media coverage surrounding the Church's position on this particular vaccine, the already approved vaccines, and the practice of using abortion-derived cell lines in development.
Please read the statement and the footnoted information it contains, so that you can have a clear picture of the Church's position on the vaccines. However, it is important to note two things in this complicated discussion. First, we should always continue to insist that pharmaceutical companies stop using abortion-derived cell lines in vaccine and therapeutic development, something that is at least remotely part of the development of all three of these vaccines. Johnson and Johnson, however did use these cell lines in more aspects of development. Secondly, given the world-wide suffering that the pandemic is causing, being vaccinated can be an act of charity which serves the common good.
Please avail yourself of whatever vaccine you are able to receive as soon as you are able and willing to receive it. However, if you are able to choose a vaccine without causing significant delay and without placing yourself at a greater health risk, the Moderna and Pfizer options have a less substantial connection to the ethical concerns raised here, and, for this reason, should be chosen.