“The pharmaceutical companies that have brought the current vaccines to market have used (either in their production or testing) the cloned cells of a baby who was killed via abortion,” said Camosy. “And they obviously did so without her consent.”
Camosy emphasized that Catholic teaching “defends the freedom of conscience and the need for all humans to come to the truth without coercion,” but added that he hopes people come to understand Catholic teaching on vaccinations without having to be coerced, as by a mandate.
Some companies have implemented mandates requiring that their employees be vaccinated as a condition of employment. In some states, the government has mandated that employees in certain sectors be vaccinated against COVID-19. And in certain cities, there is a planned “vaccine passport” system that will limit entrance to restaurants and other locations to those who can prove they received the coronavirus vaccine.
Additionally, given the country’s history with performing medical experiments on minority groups, Camosy said that he fully understands why people, particularly Black Americans, may be hesitant about getting the vaccine. Camosy noted that the vaccines themselves are still considered to be experimental.
“And in light of their experimental nature, it is by no means surprising that many Black Americans appear to be vaccine hesitant,” said Camosy. “The reasons for this are complex and interwoven, and lack of access still plays a significant role. But a major part of the story was recently articulated by the Black mayor of Boston, Kim Janey, who drew attention to ‘our shared history.’”
Janey said that she was concerned that communities of color may be disproportionately impacted by a vaccine mandate due to their hesitation to trust the medical field. Boston will mandate that city employees receive the COVID-19 vaccine, but otherwise does not have any plans for a vaccine passport system for the general public similar to New York City or San Francisco.
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