New vaccine (Novavax) may be option for troops with religious concerns
Source: Associated Press
New vaccine may be option for troops with religious concerns
By LOLITA C. BALDOR
June 9, 2022
WASHINGTON (AP) — A COVID-19 vaccine that could soon win federal authorization may offer a boost for the U.S. military: an opportunity to get shots into some of the thousands of service members who have refused other coronavirus vaccines for religious reasons.
At least 175 active duty and reserve service members have already received the Novavax vaccine, some even traveling overseas at their own expense to get it. The vaccine meets Defense Department requirements because it has the World Health Organization’s emergency use approval and is used in Europe and other regions. The Food and Drug Administration is considering giving it emergency use authorization in the U.S.
The Novavax vaccine may be an acceptable option for some of the 27,000 service members who have sought religious exemptions from the mandatory vaccine. Military officials say many troops who refuse the shots cite certain COVID-19 vaccines’ remote connection to abortions.
Laboratory-grown cell lines descended from fetuses that were aborted decades ago were used in some early-stage testing of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines and to grow viruses used to manufacture the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The vaccines do not contain fetal cells. Novavax, however, says that ”no human fetal-derived cell lines or tissue” were used in the development, manufacture or production of its vaccine.
-snip-
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/covid-health-government-and-politics-business-religion-b8608af5a14ec95e98cf4b60e62a2b17
= new reply since forum marked as read
