Real-life dilemma about vaccines

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carmel2013

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Hello:

Apologies if this is not the appropriate forum, please feel free to move it to the correct one.

My daughter, about to turn 18 and heading off to college, may be heading into a dilemma concerning vaccines.

She has never had chickenpox or the chickenpox vaccine. The lack of vaccination is partially because of ethical questions as we understand the currently available vaccine is derived from aborted fetal tissue. It’s also partially due to a chronic medical condition for which she had to take medicines that suppressed her immune system. Her doctors told us she could not have live vaccines, such as the chickenpox vaccine.

By God’s grace, that medical condition is in remission and she is now off those medicines. Now her doctor is recommending she get the vaccine. I don’t know yet if the college she will be attending (living on campus) will require it.

I get it, chickenpox/shingles as an adult is much more serious and painful than as a child. However, there is still the ethical dilemma of getting a vaccine produced from aborted fetal tissue.

She is about to turn 18 and is leaning toward NOT getting the vaccine if possible.

Any suggestions, recommendations, resources would be greatly appreciated, along with prayers for the right decision.
 
Odds are most, if not all, of her classmates have had the vaccine. Praying there’s herd immunity in place for her.
 
Thank you for the responses and the link.

I’m sorry, I didn’t think of the “cannot give medical advice” aspect. I was thinking only of the moral aspect.

As to her physician: she is aging out of her pediatrician’s practice and needs to seek a new provider.
 
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There is a letter from the Vatican on this subject. I googled Vatican vaccines but had trouble copying it here.
 
carmel2013 said:
However, there is still the ethical dilemma of getting a vaccine produced from aborted fetal tissue.
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See here:

https://www.ncbcenter.org/resources/frequently-asked-questions/use-vaccines/

You are not required to forego the vaccination for chickenpox even though the cell line is derived from fetal tissue.

We cannot give medical advice. If her doctor is recommending the vaccine, I suggest you take that advice seriously. Do not let a misguided notion that the Church requires you to forego it be part of that decision. The Church does not require that.
 
carmel2013 said:
Any suggestions, recommendations, resources would be greatly appreciated, along with prayers for the right decision.
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If either of you are ethically squeamish, one option that she can broach with her physician is titer testing. A blood test can show if she already has any immunity to chicken pox, possibly through passive exposure. Some states legally recognize titers instead of vaccination, and others will compel her to file an exemption or get vaccinated. If the titer comes up negative, i.e. no immunity to chicken pox, she can proceed with vaccination, and the Church won’t condemn her for it.

There have been chicken pox outbreaks on college campuses, so it’s best to do something, especially if she’s going to live in the dorms.
 
From the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith’s Dignitas Personae:
Thus, for example, danger to the health of children could permit parents to use a vaccine which was developed using cell lines of illicit origin, while keeping in mind that everyone has the duty to make known their disagreement and to ask that their healthcare system make other types of vaccines available.
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1ke said:
We cannot give medical advice. If her doctor is recommending the vaccine, I suggest you take that advice seriously. Do not let a misguided notion that the Church requires you to forego it be part of that decision. The Church does not require that
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I wish I could give this more than one like.
 
For some reason I was under the impression that they no longer produce the chicken pox vaccine in that manner any longer.
 
Thank you, one and all. I learned something today.
 
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JohnsonJJ said:
This is infallible Catholic advice. We as Catholics are not allowed to receive or give consent to vaccine derived from aborted fetal tissue. Abortion is a Mortal Sin and supporting a vaccine derived from aborted fetal tissue is also a Mortal Sin.
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This is not true. See the link 1ke posted.
 
JohnsonJJ said:
This is infallible Catholic advice. We as Catholics are not allowed to receive or give consent to vaccine derived from aborted fetal tissue. Abortion is a Mortal Sin and supporting a vaccine derived from aborted fetal tissue is also a Mortal Sin.
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This is not correct. First, there are vaccines derived from cell lines that originated from aborted fetuses. No vaccine that I am aware of uses aborted fetal tissue.

This is an important distinction because many websites and articles that are opposed to vaccines leave people with the impression that vaccine manufacturers have some sort of pipeline from Planned Parenthood that feeds them more and more aborted remains in order to match the demand for the vaccines.

That’s not how it works. Cell lines for research purposes come from different sources and, yes, some have (illicitly and immorally) originated from the remains of an aborted fetus. But that cell line goes on and on and on from just one aborted fetus from something like 40 years ago.

The Church says what has been referenced above. We should use alternate vaccines if they are available. And we should make it known that it is not acceptable for vaccines to use these cell lines. However, a parent can decide for the health of their child to use the vaccine when no other alternatives exist.

This is the Church teaching on the matter. Not a blanket condemnation. Please read the documents cited above.
 
JohnsonJJ said:
I will continue speak out against the MORTAL SIN of being an accessory to abortion by giving consent to vaccines derived from aborted fetal tissue.
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What is your response to the documents cited above? Have you read them? Do you dispute that they are Catholic teaching?
 
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