The Covid-19 Vaccine
Weighing the issues and improving acceptability among migrants
By Yvon Luky
(From the April - June 2021 issue of VOX)
As the Faith Communities Coordinator for ACET Ireland, Yvon Luky has been working with the HSE to address faith inequalities for people from migrant backgrounds in Ireland including responses to the pandemic. The project engages with both leaders of migrant faith-based groups and community organisations. Here he opens a dialogue about the Covid-19 vaccine and considers why some people may be reluctant to be vaccinated. While focused on migrant communities, what he writes has relevance for all Christians in Ireland.
For some time, vaccine hesitancy (or sometimes clear resistance) has been reported among people from a migrant background. Because of pre-existing health inequalities, people from migrant backgrounds have been more exposed to or significantly affected by Covid-19. At the same time, migrants seem to be a target of choice for those who oppose Covid-19 vaccines.
Why the resistance to the vaccine?
Even though resistance to the vaccine has various causes, some of them are more frequently mentioned.
The legacy of some past abuses: stories of minorities being used as guinea pigs during human trials for new products.
Misinformation: information about the vaccines can be truncated, manipulated, edited or presented in such a way as to provoke a rejection. Misinformation campaigns use easy-to-digest short videos, actively circulated through social media, which seem to be a powerful resource. People are encouraged to share what they received with their friends so news spreads quickly discouraging vaccination.
Conspiracy theories: these attempt to establish a link between independent or coincidental facts and present them as concerted efforts to deceive people or achieve a hidden malign agenda. For instance, Covid-19 is presented as the result of human manipulations for the purpose of imposing, through high death tolls and fear, the limitation of freedom, paving the way to a global government.
Fiction and reality entwined: things that are conceivable in theory are presented as certitudes; the dividing line between fiction and reality is blurred.
Fear of the unknown: the suggestion of not enough data about the long-term effects.
Prophetic interpretations: the Covid-19 pandemic is said to be an event of the end-times, and the vaccine presented as the means by which the devil is seeking to control populations and subject human beings. Accepting the vaccine is therefore considered as a way of falling into the trap of the devil.
“People are misled to believe that there are lots of hidden things about Covid-19 and that what is happening is a pre-planned agenda that will eventually harm us.”
Simply said, people are misled to believe that there are lots of hidden things about Covid-19 and that what is happening is a pre-planned agenda that will eventually harm us.
If we do not understand the factors underpinning the vaccine resistance or rejection, it will be difficult to increase vaccine take-up. Even though some of the causes of resistance or rejection are due to ignorance, others may be legitimate concerns that need to be addressed in a sensitive way by knowledgeable people who are trusted by community members. An open dialogue is necessary.
For instance, one way of debunking conspiracy theories is to explain that there are currently more than ten vaccine candidates that have been or are being tested; some are already approved. These vaccines are produced by different (often competing) laboratories, with different technologies, funded by different countries (also competing and sometimes rivals), making unlikely the possibility of collusion of producers to alter their respective vaccines to achieve hidden goals.
To avoid being misled, people should be encouraged to seek information from trusted sources only, to do fact-checks and refrain from sharing any material linked to the misinformation campaigns.
What do we currently know?
Contrary to what some think, there is no a single Covid-19 vaccine. Instead, there are many vaccines with various working mechanisms. The race to discover a vaccine has resulted in a number of potentially effective vaccines produced in different countries.
To date, there are three approved vaccines in Ireland: Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna and Astra-Zeneca. All approved Covid-19 vaccines are declared to be safe and effective. Other vaccines might be approved in the near future. A number of vaccines have also been produced outside Europe including Johnson and Johnson (US), Sputnik V (Russia), CoronaVac (China), and Covax (WHO). So far, globally, more than 235 million doses have already been administered.
Vaccines, Human cells and Abortion
For many Christians, one of the most serious concerns about the Covid-19 vaccines is the widely circulated story that cells from an aborted foetus were used in their production or even that the vaccines contain aborted cells.
Most of current the Covid-19 vaccines approved for use in Ireland do not use human cell lines in their production. For example, Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna use mRNA technology; they are synthetic vaccines.
However some vaccines are made using fetal human cell lines. That is the case for a number of traditional vaccines including the MMR vaccine and hepatitis A vaccine. Over the decades, the same fetal cells obtained from the early 1960s have been cloned and replicated, many times; they have continued to grow in the laboratory and are used to make modern vaccines. No further sources of fetal cells are needed to make these vaccines.
The fetal cells are used to grow vaccine viruses but the vaccines themselves do not contain these cells. Currently there are no approved Covid-19 vaccine that contain cells from aborted fetuses.
The Covid-19 vaccine being developed by AstraZeneca in collaboration with Oxford University has generated the most debate. AstraZeneca does use a cell strain taken from a foetus aborted in 1973 (the fetus was aborted legally at the time and not for the purposes of vaccine research). Over the decades, these cells have been cloned and replicated and have now been used to propagate the AstraZeneca virus for the vaccine but these cells do not make it into the final product.
Some Christians have chosen not to take the AstraZeneca vaccine, while others have weighed the ethics and chosen to be vaccinated. A quote from Belfast-based pastor and theologian, Rev Malcolm Duncan is helpful. “We must each make a choice that does not violate our sense of Christian teaching or our sense of Christian conscience. It is, however, possible, to accept that two people, with equally passionate views of the dignity of life might reach different conclusions on the receipt of a Covid-19 vaccine without having to suggest that either have violated a commitment to the dignity of life.”
Making your own decision
In Ireland, Covid-19 vaccines are free. They are not mandatory but are highly recommended in the absence of an effective treatment, because the virus spreads through the normal interaction of daily life, because the restrictions imposed are difficult to bear in the long term, because Covid-19 infection can lead to serious, life-threatening illness for vulnerable people, the vaccines are among the only effective protective tools available.
According to the WHO (World Health Organization), “The Covid-19 vaccines produce protection against the disease as a result of developing an immune response to the SARS-Cov-2 virus. Developing immunity through vaccination means there is a reduced risk of developing the illness and its consequences. This immunity helps you fight the virus if exposed. Getting vaccinated may also protect people around you, because if you are protected from getting infected and from disease, you are less likely to infect someone else. This is particularly important to protect people at increased risk for severe illness from Covid-19, such as healthcare providers, older adults, and people with other medical conditions.’’
When it comes to vaccination, a number of factors can help you make the decision. These could include:
Your own interest (the desire to be in good health)
Whether or not you are particularly vulnerable to the disease (e.g. old age, underlying health conditions, compromised immunity etc.)
Consideration for the health of your relatives, friends and the wider community; does your decision expose others to harm?
What you know about the vaccine (effectiveness, safety, side-effects, potential risks, etc.)
Recommendation from health professionals, health authorities, etc.
The example of role models
“Over and above these considerations, Christians also refer to the Bible to ensure that their decision is in line with their faith and according to their conscience.”
Over and above these considerations, Christians also refer to the Bible to ensure that their decision is in line with their faith and according to their conscience. While there is no mention of vaccines in the Scriptures, you can find principles that could underpin your decision:
We are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27): every human life is valuable and precious.
Do not harm or destroy your body (1 Corinthians 3:17): Covid-19 can be deadly; do not knowingly or recklessly expose your body to a risk of serious harm or destruction.
Loving your neighbour as yourself (Matthew 19:19): Protect yourself to protect others, as a sign of your love for them.
Whatever you want people to do for you, do the same for them (Luke 6:31): If you expect other people to take all measures or precautions so that they will not infect you with Covid-19, then do the same for them.
What can you do now?
The Covid-19 vaccine is being rolled-out. You will be contacted by you GP offering you to get vaccinated. It is available for free. The recommendation of health authorities in clear: get the vaccine. My own belief is that will be good for you, your family, your community, your country and the world.
The decision is yours.
Pastor Yvon Luky is originally from DR Congo. He is the senior pastor of LA GRACE Christian Assembly in Dublin and is the Coordinator of the Platform of French Speaking Churches in Ireland [PEFI].
