Could it be a sin not to get vaccinated?

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angell1

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i am thinking of vaccines in general, flu shot for example. i did get one this year, but prior to that, i honestly never really got one since i was a kid, raelly don’t like needles, and i was not realllyy at risk, nor was anyone around me, but then i am thinking that i still could have theoretically have passed the virus on to other people anyways.

of course, i know, the church has no teaching that we must get them, nor does the government even make them m mandatory in most cases. so how do we assess the morality of something like this?
 
Prudential judgement.

Don’t let people guilt you into taking any vaccine.
 
Don’t confuse the laws of the world with the laws of religion. Nothing says you must get a vaccine as a Catholic, even if your country may mandate it.

I can see it now…people saying that we are suppose to follow those in power because they have been appointed by God. However, there are plenty of times where following the rules of the world would result in grave sin on our part. (Not saying taking or not taking a vaccine is a sin, just saying that you are not forced to do anything to your body you do not wish to do.)
 
What about the idea that by not getting vaccinated I could put others in danger?
 
If you have an infection and knowingly expose others I could see that argument. But if you have no reason to believe you’re sick then there can’t be any guilt.
 
You’re a free adult.

You may take the vaccine if your prudential judgement decides it’s the correct decision for you.
 
No because you could contribute to herd immunity another way. And God never said we had to inject extra gooble-dee-gook into our bodies.
 
Then you can’t bear guilt. Think of the requirements for something to be a mortal sin.
 
Before Covid19 we were all germ carriers.

During Covid19 we are all germ carriers.

After Covid19 we will all be germ carriers.
 
PaulinVA said:
What about the idea that by not getting vaccinated I could put others in danger?
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A fair point. My guess (I don’t claim to have all the answers to this question) is that not getting vaccinated would only be potentially sinful if, for example, you were frequently around someone who would be considered “high risk” if they contracted the disease you refused to vaccinate against, and you had no legitimate religious or medical reasons for declining the vaccination. Otherwise, I doubt it’s sinful.

A greater conundrum might be: what if the only available vaccine(s) are compromised of aborted fetal cells? Would it be a sin to get vaccinated in that instance? It’s probably been addressed before on this forum, but I’m curious if the COVID vaccines do contain those cells, what Catholics would be advised to do.
 
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And you could be sick despite your vaccine. The intention is what matters. There are no guarantees of a life free from viruses.
 
RhodesianSon said:
Then you can’t bear guilt. Think of the requirements for something to be a mortal sin.
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I’m not arguing it’s a mortal sin. Can’t something just be morally wrong?

I’m not sure I want to participate in a whole vax/antviax thread here. CAF is only around for another month.
 
I’m not anti vax. I’ve gotten more shots than dog at the pound. I just don’t think it can be considered wrong to refuse something like a vaccine because it might cause someone somewhere at sometime to get sick and/or die.

Because there’s no way of knowing if the person who refuses to get vaccinated is even responsible. There’s still plenty of ways to pick up communicable diseases.
 
I’m not an antivaxxer.

I’ve administered and run flu clinics in corporations.
All my kiddos got all their shots.
I’ve debated antivaxxer on other forums.

But this thread is “is it a sin not to get vaccinated”.

The answer is NO
 
Just to add, I’m not an antivaxxer either. I’ve had plenty of shots in my life (all the normal preventative ones, plus some for travel).

No intention of being rushed into anything with the urgently-framed Covid vaccine, though.

And as others have noted, it seems too prudential a subject matter to call it a sin to avoid vaccination in general. Objective facts and subjective motivations are too relevant to declare anything like that. Coughing on someone on purpose while sick, maybe. Abstaining from receiving a vaccination that either one does not believe will do good, or in objective fact does not do good, or both – too murky to say, which seems to default to ‘no’, not a sin.
 
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No I don’t find our natural immune system morally wrong. I also don’t find it morally wrong for Chinese people to give birth to more than one or two children despite it using more societal resources. Nor do I think either of these cases should be shamed, coerced, or forced to do actions against their will and their natural state.
 
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I think it’s simple enough - you have no moral obligation to take any vaccination, ever, especially if you have any concerns about that vaccine’s safety. You certainly should use some common sense and concern for others if you are sick or think you are sick, by doing what we know one should do to prevent infecting others. In practice, the morality is no different to the common flu - if you have it, you could give it by accident to someone. That person might be immunocompromised or elderly. They might get very sick or die, or pass it on to someone else who will. Was that your fault because you didn’t get the flu vaccine? I’ve never heard that being argued before, I think we’re just in Covid panic. Worst case scenario is you knowing you’re sick and intentionally having close contact with people anyway - I think that would be a sin, but certainly not mortal. (Unless you were actively trying to infect others - then it probably would be.)
 
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