Australian official dismisses Catholic bishop's objections to Covid-19 vaccine
The deputy chief medical officer, Dr Nick Coatsworth, has downplayed concerns from prominent church figures in Australia that some Christians could refuse a Covid-19 vaccine on ethical grounds.
Coatsworth’s defence of the University of Oxford vaccine follows a warning from Catholic archbishop of Sydney, Anthony Fisher,that Catholics would be presented with an “ethical dilemma” if the vaccine was proved successful as it relies on cell lines from an electively aborted fetus.
Fisher called on the government to “pursue similar arrangements for alternate vaccines that do not raise the same ethical concerns” about the formulation of the vaccine.
The warning, contained in a letter to prime minister Scott Morrison, was also co-signed by the Anglican archbishop of Sydney, Glenn Davies, and the Greek Orthodox archbishop of Australia, Makarios Griniezakis. It noted there are 167 Covid-19 vaccines being researched, with several that don’t use fetal cells in their development.
“It is in the best interests of the community that vaccination is widely taken up and this deadly disease defeated, and this will better be achieved if the vaccines available do not create an ethical quandary,” Fisher wrote on Facebook, when explaining his reasons for sending the letter to Morrison.
In the letter, the church leaders warn that “while some will have no ethical problem”, others “will draw a straight line from the ending of a human life in abortion through the cultivation of the cell-line to the use for manufacturing this vaccine”.
“Even if the cells have been propagated for years in a laboratory far removed from the abortion, that line of connection remains,” the letter said.
The church leaders called for the government not to pressure Australians to use the vaccine if it goes against their religious or moral beliefs, instead asking for an “ethically uncontroversial alternative vaccine be made available in Australia if it is achieved”.
“Please be assured that our churches are not opposed to vaccination, as we have said, we are pray
ing that one may be found. But we also pray that it be one that is not ethically tainted.”
But Robert Booy, a University of Sydney professor of vaccinology, said vaccines have been developed with cell lines from aborted fetuses for the past 50 years, and that Christian groups had previously accepted their use because of the “big distance between the cell line and the final vaccine”.
He told Guardian Australia vaccines for rubella, hepatitis A and chicken pox all used the same method of development.
“Fetal stem cells can go through scores of 50 replications, whereas older cells in humans, their cells can only replicate a much shorter number of times. So in order to produce vaccines, the virus needs to be grown within the cell repeatedly, and then harvested. Then they get rid of the human element, and purify it just to have the viral element,” Booy said.
“The purification of the virus means they don’t include human DNA in the actual vaccines. Generally people have been comfortable with the idea that a human cell line has been used because it’s a long way distant from the fetus.”
Peter Doherty, Nobel laureate and professor of immunology, said while the cell line may be an issue for some Catholics, “scientifically there’s no issue”.
“It’s using a cell line that’s been used in lots of applications. It’s our perfect right to take absolutely no intelligence of him,” Doherty said of Fisher.
On Monday, Coatsworth said he was aware of Fisher’s concerns, but said “the reality for the vaccines is that they need cell cultures in order for us to grow them”.
“The human cell is a really important part of their (vaccine) development.”
“There are strong ethical regulations surrounding the use of any human cell, particularly fetal human cells. This is a very professional, highly powered research unit at Oxford University, one of the world’s leading universities, so I think we can have every faith that the way they have manufactured the vaccine has been against the highest of ethical standards internationally,” Coatsworth said.
The concern among religious groups about the Oxford Covid-19 vaccine follows the federal government’s announcement last week it had signed a $24.7m agreement with pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca to supply the vaccine to all Australians for free.
A day after announcing the agreement, Morrison was forced to walk back comments the vaccine would be compulsory after experts warned doing so might drive hesitant Australians away.
A government spokesperson told Guardian Australia “the prime minister respects the views of Australia’s many religious communities and understands the issues that are being raised”.
“Many vaccines in development do not contain these cell lines, including the UQ [University of Queensland] vaccine candidate which the government is already supporting with $5m.”
“The government will always follow the medical advice and will be encouraging as widespread use of the vaccine or vaccines as is possible,” the spokesperson said.
Opposition treasury spokesman Jim Chalmers said “when a vaccine is available and it’s rolled out, as many people as possible should get vaccinated”.
“That’s my personal view. I say that as a Catholic. That’s the best outcome for Australia. The vaccine is what will get us to the other side of this diabolical health problem with all the economic consequences it brings,” he said.