Spiritual questions about the vaccine

Does taking the vaccine support abortion?

Many pro-life Christians fear that the vaccine is connected to abortion, and indeed, there is a distant connection. But the consensus of leading Christian bioethicists is that this distant connection should not discourage pro-life Christians from taking the vaccine. Dr. Francis Collins, head of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has himself affirmed that none of the vaccines contain fetal tissue, and that taking the vaccine does not mean being complicit with any kind of actions that happened 50 or 60 years ago. The Vatican, which as studied this issue extensively, has given its approval. The president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary has similarly approved. Leading conservative bioethicists, like those associated with pro-life foundations such as the Heritage Foundation have also joined in the approval. Christians can trust these people and organizations and rest assured that there is no moral or ethical reason to not get vaccinated.

Is the vaccine the “Mark of the Beast”?

Throughout modern history, some Christians have made claims that a particular institution of the day was the beast predicted by Revelation 13:16-18, and the numeric system they created was the number, or mark, of the beast. Such examples include social security numbers, area codes, and credit card numbers. The vaccine is no different than these historic examples. How we approach the passage in Revelation will determine how we interpret the mark, which is explained in this video. In short, there is no scriptural evidence to support this claim.

Does trusting the vaccine mean distrusting God?

Many Christians say that to trust in a man-made vaccine is to distrust God and His protection over our health. However, the two are not in opposition. Trusting in the vaccine can also mean trusting that God gave wisdom and discernment to the scientists and bioethicists who developed the vaccine. In practically every facet of our life, we have to regularly trust experts and institutions to navigate life. God designed us to trust institutions and experts who know more about these issues than we do.

What does Christianity have to do with the vaccine?

Some have questioned whether there is even any connection between our Christian faith and the vaccine. There are two important answers to this. First, many Christians have struggled with questions about the vaccine that are specifically related to their faith. Our goal is to provide thoughtful, biblical responses to those important questions. Second, we believe that the core truths of Christian teaching support taking the vaccine. Chief among these is Jesus’ 2nd greatest commandment to “love your neighbor as yourself.” The very nature of vaccination is “public” health, meaning it is just as much about your neighbor as about yourself. We have successfully tackled polio, small pox, measles and other deadly diseases through the tool of vaccines. The COVID vaccine is no different.

Medical questions about the vaccine

Why should I get vaccinated?

Getting immunized against COVID-19 will keep most people from getting sick. Even in a rare case where one does catch the virus, the vaccine will likely prevent you from becoming seriously ill.

Protecting yourself also protects the people around you, like those at increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19 or those who can’t get vaccinated — like infants, or people with weakened immune systems from things like chemotherapy for cancer.

Is the COVID vaccine safe?

The COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective. They were tested rigorously in tens of thousands of participants in the clinical trials before receiving approval from the FDA.

Over 100 million doses have been administered under the most intensive vaccine safety monitoring in history.

Should I be concerned about long term side effects?

For every other type of vaccines that has ever been developed, serious side effects typically become within the first 2 months. This is why the FDA requires that all vaccine trials have a minimum of 2 months of data to ensure that no unexpected side effects appear.

Compare this minimal risk to the very real and tangible risk of contracting COVID-19, a disease that has killed more than 500,000 Americans and for which there are documented long term side effects such as fatigue, difficulty breathing, and ongoing pain in the chest and joints.

Will the COVID vaccine change my DNA?

None of the COVID-19 vaccines will alter your DNA. There has been some confusion because two of the vaccines (Pfizer and Moderna) use messenger RNA, or mRNA. The mRNA vaccines do nothing to your DNA, they merely cause our bodies to generate the spike-protein that fights off COVID-19 infection.

How were the COVID vaccines made so quickly? Were corners cut?

The rapid spread of COVID-19 made developing these vaccines an international priority, unlocking billions of dollars in funding to ensure safety while moving with urgency to save lives.

No corners were cut and no changes were made to the rigorous requirements for safety, effectiveness and manufacturing quality.

The speed of vaccine development was due primarily to three factors:

1. The unprecedented funding and international collaboration of researchers and medical experts.

2. The science had a head start based on research developing vaccines for other types of coronaviruses (2003 SARS and 2012 MERS).

3. The streamlining of certain regulatory steps in the vaccine authorization process (while still maintaining rigorous standards for FDA approval).

What if I’m just a cautious person? Aren’t I just avoiding risk by not taking the vaccine?

The risks from the vaccine are extremely small and highly unlikely. It is true that you can avoid these minimal risks by skipping the vaccine, but you cannot avoid the fact that doing so exposes you (and others around you) to the much greater risk of you contracting the COVID virus and spreading it to others. We know for certain that COVID-19 can cause death and can also have detrimental long term side effects in some people. 

How were the vaccines tested for safety?

Every vaccine must go through rigorous testing and inspection to ensure it is safe. Vaccines for COVID-19 followed a 3-phase process where there are several stages before FDA authorization:

• Phase 1: The vaccine is tested in a small number of generally healthy adults, usually between 20 and 80 people. It’s evaluated for safety, dosage, and any side effects. Experts also look at what type of immune response is created.

• Phase 2: If there are no safety concerns from Phase I studies, the vaccine is given in various dosages to hundreds of adults who may have a variety of health issues and come from different backgrounds to make sure it is safe. These studies provide additional safety information on common short-term side effects and risks, examine the relationship between the dose given and the immune response, and may provide initial information regarding the effectiveness of the vaccine.

• Phase 3: Experts broaden the study to include thousands of adults, from a variety of ages and backgrounds. They see how many people who got the vaccine were protected from the disease, compared to those who received a placebo.

How does the COVID vaccine protect me?

When we get a vaccine, it activates our immune response. This helps our bodies learn to fight off the virus without the danger of an actual infection. If we are exposed to the virus in the future, our immune system “remembers” how to fight it.

Some COVID-19 vaccines use messenger RNA, or mRNA. mRNA vaccines do not contain a live virus — they give our bodies “instructions” for how to make the harmless spike-shaped proteins that will protect against a COVID-19 infection. While these vaccines use a new technological technique, researchers have been studying this technique for decades.

If I’ve already had COVID should I take the vaccine?

If you’ve had COVID-19 in the past 90 days, talk to your doctor about when you should get vaccinated. People who have already had COVID-19 should still eventually get vaccinated to ensure they are protected.

COVID-19 vaccination should be offered to you regardless of whether you already had COVID-19 infection. You should not be required to have an antibody test before you are vaccinated.

However, anyone currently infected with COVID-19 should wait to get vaccinated until after their illness has resolved and after they have met the criteria to discontinue isolation.

What can I do after getting the COVID vaccine?

According to the CDC, you can gather indoors with fully vaccinated people without wearing a mask. You can even gather with unvaccinated people from one other household (for example, visiting with relatives who all live together) without masks, unless any of those people or anyone they live with has an increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19. Because scientists are still learning how well vaccines prevent you from spreading the virus, you should still take steps to protect others in certain public situations by wearing a mask and social distancing.