“Despite how it is being characterized in some news reports and social media posts, the decision for parishes and other diocesan entities within the Diocese of Madison not to host onsite COVID-19 vaccination clinics is not about condemning or discouraging vaccination. “
Tag: vaccine
Bishops address COVID vaccine concerns
MADISON — Wisconsin’s Catholic bishops have issued a statement that addresses moral considerations regarding newly-developed COVID-19 vaccines.
In their letter, the bishops acknowledged the devastating impact of coronavirus infections worldwide but also lauded the efforts of nations and organizations to develop safe vaccines that will effectively diminish the impact of the virus.
Moral questions
While the promise of inoculation provides hope for the end of the current pandemic, the bishops indicated that many Catholics have raised moral questions about receiving vaccinations, especially the use of vaccines that utilize cell lines from aborted children in development and production.
There are also questions surrounding the right of conscience and the duty of all Catholics to advance the common good.SSM Health administers COVID vaccines
MADISON — Things have moved fast since SSM Health received its first shipment of the Pfizer and the Moderna vaccines in December, but that does not mean people should become lax in the protective measures to guard against the spread of the coronavirus, stressed Mo Kharbat, SSM Health Wisconsin’s regional VP of pharmacy.
“Wearing masks, social distancing, avoiding gatherings, etc. — will need to continue well into 2021 and until a large majority of our population has been vaccinated with both doses of the vaccine they receive,” he said. “We ask that people be patient.”
COVID-19 vaccines: Moral evaluation
Although there are many factors to consider, the main concern of the Church with any vaccine is that it is developed, tested, and produced in such a manner that is morally licit.
COVID-19 is much more lethal than influenza; we should choose to protect life and health
To the editor:
A recent letter writer to this newspaper (04/30/20) asked the question, “Do we think that COVID-19 virus is going away soon?” And though I agree with him that it is not, I do disagree with his view that we should have been more concerned about the economy.
State scientists support ban on use of human fetal tissue in research in Wisconsin
Editor’s note: The letter published here is from six scientists at the Medical College of Wisconsin who write in support of Assembly Bill 305, the fetal body parts bill being considered by the state Legislature.
Unprecedented attention has been given to Assembly Bill 305 in the Wisconsin Legislature that would restrict the use of abortion-derived fetal tissue for research.
Opponents of the bill, including those in biomedical research, have openly shared arguments against such restrictions. However, we, who are also scientists and doctors, do not share this view. We do not agree that research using human fetal or embryonic tissue from abortions or procedures such as IVF is ethical or a requisite approach for advancing scientific inquiry or preventing suffering.
Children should be vaccinated
We are hearing a lot in the news these days about the issue of vaccination of children, primarily because of a nationwide measles outbreak that began in a Disney park in California.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) report that the current outbreak has resulted in 121 cases of measles in 17 states and the District of Columbia, according to Catholic News Service.
Role of parents
The outbreak has raised concerns about parents who won’t immunize their children for a variety of reasons.
I agree that parents should make the final decision about their children’s health and well-being. There are some reasons why parents might not want their children to be vaccinated. However, parents may have fears that are not based on scientific fact.
Vaccinating our children for sexually transmitted diseases
Last month, an advisory committee of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta recommended that nine- to 12-year-old boys be vaccinated against the human papillomavirus (HPV), a virus transmitted through sexual contact. The goal of the recommendations was to prevent cancers caused by HPV, such as certain cancers of the digestive tract.
The same committee had already recommended, back in March of 2007, that girls and young women between the ages of nine and 26 be vaccinated against HPV, to help prevent various cancers of the reproductive tract, such as cervical cancer.
Raises ethical concerns
While the motivation to prevent cancer and diseases is clearly good, a universal recommendation of this type raises ethical concerns. Because the recommendations of the committee relate to important aspects of human behavior and sexuality at formative ages for children and adolescents, parents need to look at the psychological and social messages they might be conveying by choosing to vaccinate their children against HPV.