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Hey COVID vaccine sceptics ⁠— healthcare experts answer some of the worrying questions

<ul><li>The UK's biggest COVID-19 vaccine project, currently being tested by the <keyword id="150557" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="University-of-Oxford">University of Oxford</keyword>, has shown some promising results in a small study with monkeys.</li><li>Researchers involved with the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 trials said the vaccine had shown signs of priming the rhesus macaque monkeys' immune systems to fend off the deadly virus and showed no indications of adverse effects. </li><li>Sarah Gilbert, professor of vaccinology at the University of Oxford's Jenner Institute who is leading the research, has previously said she has a "high degree of confidence" in the vaccine.</li></ul> The UK's biggest COVID-19 vaccine project, currently being tested by the University of Oxford, has shown some promising results in a small study with monkeys. Researchers involved with the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 trials said the vaccine had shown signs of priming the rhesus macaque monkeys' immune systems to fend off the deadly virus and showed no indications of adverse effects. According to the study, which is yet to be peer-reviewed, a single vaccination dose was also effective in preventing damage to the lungs – organs that can be severely affected by the virus. "A single vaccination with ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 induced a humoral and cellular immune response in rhesus macaques," the authors said. "We observed a significantly reduced viral load in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and respiratory tract tissue of vaccinated animals challenged with SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) compared with control animals, and no pneumonia was observed in vaccinated rhesus macaques," they said. The researchers found that after being exposed to high levels of the novel coronavirus, none of the six monkeys that were given the vaccine developed viral pneumonia. Also, there was no sign that the vaccine had made the animals more vulnerable. The development has been welcomed as encouraging signs for a vaccine currently undergoing human trials but experts warn that it remains to be seen if it is as effective in humans. "These results support the ongoing clinical trial of the vaccine in humans, the results of which are eagerly awaited," said Dr Penny Ward, visiting professor in pharmaceutical medicine at King's College London. Sarah Gilbert, professor of vaccinology at the University of Oxford's Jenner Institute who is leading the research, has previously said she has a "high degree of confidence" in the vaccine. "Of course, we have to test it and get data from humans. We have to demonstrate it actually works and stops people getting infected with coronavirus before using the vaccine in the wider population," she said. British drugs giant AstraZeneca has struck up a "landmark partnership" with the <keyword id="30725" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Oxford-university">Oxford University</keyword> team and said that 100 million doses could be made by the end of the year if the trials prove successful. "We're now starting to wait for an advocacy signal to see whether people who've been vaccinated don't get the disease, so that's the next step," said John Bell, professor of medicine at the University of Oxford. However, the team is faced with the risk that there may not be enough active disease in the community for the participants to catch it naturally, calculations around which remain ongoing as the human trials progress in regions of the UK. If the trial is successful in the UK, the Oxford team will approach scientists in the <keyword id="5119740" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kenya-Medical-Research-Institute">Kenya Medical Research Institute</keyword> (KEMRI) and will approach the government of Kenya for permission to evaluate in Kenya. "We also want to make sure that the rest of the world will be ready to make this vaccine at scale so that it gets to populations in developing countries, for example, where the need is very great," Bell said. Meanwhile, it is hoped that results from the first human trials could be available by next month after healthcare workers on the frontlines of the pandemic were among those in the first batch of the trials in the UK. The UK is the third worst-hit country in the world with 234,441 coronavirus cases. The US tops the chart with 1,417,889 cases, followed by Russia at 252,245. The deadly virus has so far claimed 33,693 lives in the UK. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/health/news/coronavirus-dos-and-donts-for-protection-against-convid-19/articleshow/74475858.cms">Do’s and Don’ts for protection against COVID-19</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/data-of-coronavirus-patients-state-wise-in-india/articleshow/74669748.cms">Coronavirus cases in India state wise</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/topic/coronavirus">Coronavirus News and Updates</a>

Coronavirus vaccine update today- Oxford University's COVID-19 vaccine test on monkeys shows promise

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Marine Cpl. Whitney McHaffie is possibly the first service member forced out of the military for violating COVID-related rules.</li><li>McHaffie refused to comply with a <keyword id="11906064" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="mask-mandate" source="Orion">mask mandate</keyword> and doesn't want to be vaccinated against COVID-19.</li><li>McHaffie went viral on social media in video in which she tells her story of being swiftly booted from the Corps for disobeying the mask mandate.</li></ul>Marine Cpl. Whitney McHaffie refused to comply with a mask mandate and doesn't want to be vaccinated against COVID-19.A month after the Defense Department's mask mandate for unvaccinated troops went into effect, she was booted from the military, possibly making her the first service member to be forced out of the service for violating COVID-related rules.McHaffie, who served at <a href="http://www.military.com/base-guide/marine-corps-air-station-cherry-point">Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point</a>, North Carolina, went viral on social media after appearing <a href="https://twitter.com/JoshMandelOhio/status/1429144627089653766?s=20">in a video</a> with Josh Mandel, a former Ohio state treasurer who is currently in his second run for the Senate.The video, in which she tells her story of being swiftly booted from the Corps for disobeying the mask mandate, had more than 400,000 views as of Tuesday morning.Vaccines are now mandatory for troops but were not at the time of McHaffie's <keyword id="12004331" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="discharge" source="Orion">discharge</keyword>. Despite that, the amateur MMA fighter and fifth-grade teacher in Ohio sought a religious exemption for the COVID-19 vaccine that had not been resolved by the time of her discharge.An indoor mask mandate for unvaccinated troops was in effect at the time.<a href="https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#datatracker-home">More than 600,000 Americans have died</a> from COVID-19, and <a href="https://apnews.com/article/science-health-coronavirus-pandemic-6df4471c64e40e7e319ae368d4c1db0b">another 100,000 are projected to die</a> by the end of the year. The rampant spread of the more contagious Delta variant has been linked largely to parts of the US with low vaccination rates.<a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/118/4/e2014564118">Multiple</a> <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2776536">studies</a> have shown that masks <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/science/science-briefs/masking-science-sars-cov2.html">help prevent the spread</a> of the coronavirus, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention continues to recommend the use of masks in areas with a high number of COVID-19 cases.<div type="image" title="Marine instructors in masks at Parris Island" height="1333" width="2000" msid="85844310" hostid="261"></div>In an interview with <keyword id="12004330" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="military-com" source="Orion">Military.com</keyword>, McHaffie said the mask mandate violated her religious liberties. She said that she doesn't believe masks are effective and wearing them would be to bear false witness, a violation of the ninth commandment in Judaism and Christianity.The <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2776536">Journal of the American Medical Association</a> concluded that wearing a cloth mask can reduce transmission of droplets from infected wearers into the air by 50% to 70%. Masks also were shown to help prevent uninfected wearers from inhaling large droplets.McHaffie believes she was singled out and that officers sought to make an example of her. She estimates only about half the Marines in her unit were vaccinated and most did not comply with the mask mandate.A spokesperson for the Corps said the policies related to mask wearing and vaccinations apply to all Marines, adding that "failure to adhere [to] policies, orders and regulations may result in corrective, disciplinary or administrative action, when appropriate."Another area of concern raised by McHaffie is the use of fetal tissue in COVID-19 vaccine research. While researchers <a href="https://www.science.org/news/2020/06/abortion-opponents-protest-covid-19-vaccines-use-fetal-cells">did use cell lines</a> derived from elective abortion tissue originally created decades ago, that tissue was used to produce proteins and wasn't put directly into the vaccine.McHaffie said that she cannot morally take a vaccine because they are derivatives of aborted fetal tissue."It's against my religion because it's associated with aborted fetal tissue, I'm catholic," she said. "I'm not against vaccines, for me it's about religious freedom, choice and health concerns.""Aborted tissue" is a concern among some evangelical Christians, though most major religious leaders and institutions, including the Vatican, support vaccinations to save lives.None of the COVID-19 vaccines approved for use in the US are made with tissues taken directly from aborted fetuses.The Defense Department allows troops to seek religious exemptions, and it also will excuse service members from getting the coronavirus vaccines, including potential booster shots, if they have legitimate health concerns or were a part of a tiny minority of those who suffered from <a href="https://www.military.com/daily-news/2021/06/30/dod-confirms-rare-heart-inflammation-cases-linked-covid-19-vaccines.html">rare vaccine side effects such as myocarditis</a>.Military.com was the first American news outlet to <a href="https://www.military.com/daily-news/2021/04/26/pentagon-tracking-14-cases-of-heart-inflammation-troops-after-covid-19-shots.html">report on the link</a> between COVID-19 vaccines and heart inflammation.McHaffie said that she objects to any mandates on healthcare. Yet troops must abide by a large roster of Defense Department health standards when they join the armed services, given mandates for other vaccines. Aside from COVID-19 shots, troops are mandated to receive more than a dozen vaccines against diseases such as smallpox and influenza.<div type="image" title="Marines in masks at boot camp in San Diego" height="1333" width="2000" msid="85844311" hostid="261"></div>McHaffie did not have an explanation as to why she accepted the other mandatory vaccines as part of her service, but rejected the COVID-19 vaccine, when asked by Military.com.She described the events leading to her separation from the Marine Corps as being triggered by a coughing fit."I went into my [officer in charge's] office to talk about something else, and I was coughing and he asked me if I thought I had COVID," McHaffie said. "At that point, I told him I don't believe in the panic behind COVID and I'm entirely fine. From that point, he kept pushing the COVID topic and told me when it was mandated he was going to push paperwork if I don't comply."<a href="https://media.defense.gov/2021/Jun/23/2002748221/-1/-1/1/FHP-GUIDANCE-SUPPLEMENT-17-REVISION-1-DOD-GUIDANCE-FOR-THE-USE-OF-MASKS-PPE-AND-NON-PHARMACEUTICAL-INTERVENTIONS-DURING-THE-COVID-19-PANDEMIC.PDF">That was exactly a month after the Pentagon issued an indoor mask mandate</a> for unvaccinated troops on June 22. The policy has <a href="https://www.military.com/daily-news/2021/08/02/bases-bring-back-mask-mandates-coronavirus-variant-sweeps-through-unvaccinated-parts-of-america.html">since been updated</a> to include all troops in parts of the country where the virus is spreading quickly.McHaffie added that a senior member of her chain of command even called her mother, asking her to urge her daughter to fall in line with the rules.The next day, July 23, her chain of command issued a formal warning to McHaffie that they would move ahead with a discharge, according to documents reviewed by Military.com.Her commander said she "willfully" disobeyed two superior officers by "refusing to wear a face covering despite not meeting the requirement to be exempt."The officers who acted to remove her from the <a href="http://www.military.com/marine-corps">Marine Corps</a> did not reply to multiple requests for comment from Military.com when reached by text and phone calls.Less than a week later, on July 29, McHaffie received a general discharge under honorable conditions, according to a copy of her DD-214, which summarizes a service member's time in the military. It was a lightning-fast dismissal; it is unusual for a service member to be kicked out in less than a week even for serious criminal offenses. But her chain of command acted within the realm of their power and<a href="https://media.defense.gov/2021/Jun/23/2002748221/-1/-1/1/FHP-GUIDANCE-SUPPLEMENT-17-REVISION-1-DOD-GUIDANCE-FOR-THE-USE-OF-MASKS-PPE-AND-NON-PHARMACEUTICAL-INTERVENTIONS-DURING-THE-COVID-19-PANDEMIC.PDF"> followed guidance from the Pentagon</a>.Richard Mast, an attorney with Liberty Counsel, an evangelical religious organization, told Military.com that the speed of the discharge was shocking and that "she barely had time to seek counsel."Six months after a discharge, troops are allowed to appeal for an upgrade. Mast says he is seeking to have McHaffie's discharge upgraded to honorable. While her current discharge status entitles her to most benefits through the <a href="http://www.military.com/benefits/veteran-benefits">Department of Veterans Affairs</a>, she isn't eligible for the <a href="http://www.military.com/education/gi-bill/new-post-911-gi-bill-overview.html">Post-9/11 GI Bill</a>.- Steve Beynon can be reached at <a href="mailto:Steve.Beynon@military.com">Steve.Beynon@military.com</a>. Follow him on Twitter @StevenBeynon.

Marine Corps corporal receives lightning-fast dismissal over refusal to wear a mask

<ul class="summary-list"><li>US <keyword id="6386025" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="catholic">Catholic</keyword> bishops are asking people to seek <keyword id="79555" type="TECHNOLOGY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Vaccines">vaccines</keyword> other than <keyword id="92247" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Johnson-Johnson">Johnson &amp; Johnson</keyword>'s if possible.</li><li>J&amp;J's COVID-19 vaccine was developed using human fetal tissue replicated from aborted <keyword id="6437514" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="stem-cells">stem cells</keyword>.</li><li>Pope Francis previously said vaccines derived from aborted cells could be "morally acceptable."</li></ul>The US Conference of Catholic Bishops is speaking out against the Johnson &amp; Johnson coronavirus vaccine because it was developed using cells from an aborted fetus."Pfizer and <keyword id="4912868" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="moderna">Moderna</keyword>'s vaccines raised concerns because an abortion-derived cell line was used for testing them, but not in their production," a <a href="https://www.usccb.org/news/2021/us-bishop-chairmen-doctrine-and-pro-life-address-use-johnson-johnson-covid-19-vaccine">statement from the conference</a> said.The Johnson &amp; Johnson vaccine, however, was "developed, tested, and is produced with abortion-derived cell lines raising additional moral concerns," it continued.The conference said that if there's a choice, people should take the Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines instead, referring back to its January recommendations that people opt for a vaccine with "the least connection to abortion-derived cell lines."If a person has no choice of vaccine, however, the conference said in that January guidance that it was morally permissible to accept any available coronavirus vaccine "given that the COVID-19 virus can involve serious health risks."The new statement followed an announcement from the <a href="https://nolacatholic.org/news/a-statement-regarding-the-janssen-johnson-johnson-covid-19-vaccine">Archdiocese of New Orleans</a> on Friday that described the Johnson &amp; Johnson vaccine as "morally compromised, as it uses the abortion-derived cell line in development and production of the vaccine as well as the testing."Insider has reached out to Johnson &amp; Johnson for comment.The Food and Drug Administration authorized the Johnson &amp; Johnson vaccine over the weekend for emergency use. As the first single-dose coronavirus vaccine to be authorized in the US, it could help Americans reach herd immunity - the level of resistance to COVID-19 needed to keep the coronavirus from spreading - more quickly.Pope Francis has yet to specifically address the Johnson &amp; Johnson vaccine, but the Vatican <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/12/21/948806643/vatican-oks-receiving-covid-19-vaccines-even-if-research-involved-fetal-tissue">previously said</a> it could be "morally acceptable" to take vaccines "that have used cell lines from aborted fetuses in their research and production process."In a <a href="https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20201221_nota-vaccini-anticovid_en.html">statement</a> released in December, the Offices of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith said that while it encouraged pharmaceutical researchers to create vaccines without employing the use of fetuses, it also advised that Catholics would not violate the church's beliefs if they used vaccines created using aborted cells."The certain knowledge that the use of such vaccines does not constitute formal cooperation with the abortion from which the cells used in the production of the vaccines derive," the statement said, noting that using the vaccines should "not in itself constitute a legitimation, even indirect, of the practice of abortion, and necessarily assumes the opposition to this practice by those who make use of these vaccines."The cells used in the development of the Johnson &amp; Johnson vaccine derive from a fetus aborted in the early 1970s and have been <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/how-cells-taken-decades-old-fetal-tissue-are-used-covid-n1242740">replicated numerous times</a> across various scientific firms and pharmaceutical companies.Debate over the use of fetal stem cells has raged for decades, with <keyword id="1141223" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="anti-abortion">anti-abortion</keyword> advocates arguing that supporting companies that do such research amounts to tacit approval of abortion.The US government regularly funds research employing fetal tissue. In 2014, for instance, the National Institutes of Health doled out about $76 million in support of projects using fetal cells, according to <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-truth-about-fetal-tissue-research/">Scientific American</a>.President Donald Trump restricted the use of aborted fetal tissue in research during his term, even though Regeneron, the antibody therapy he touted as a "<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/trump-antibody-treatment-fetal-tissue/2020/10/08/92f9b2d6-0971-11eb-9be6-cf25fb429f1a_story.html">cure</a>" for COVID-19, was tested using fetal cells. The <a href="https://www.aau.edu/key-issues/aau-associations-send-letter-incoming-biden-harris-administration-human-fetal-tissue">scientific community</a> has released a letter to President Joe Biden calling on him to roll back Trump's restrictions to allow for increased fetal tissue use. "We are confident that an independent and rigorous evaluation of the scientific and ethical merits of HFT [human fetal tissue] research would find that it will continue to advance scientific research and contribute to the development of new treatments," the letter said.

Bishops urge Catholics to avoid the Johnson & Johnson vaccine if possible because it was developed using cells from an aborted fetus

<keyword id="143168" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="German-researchers">German researchers</keyword> have identified highly effective antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) and are now pursuing the development of a passive vaccination. The study, published in the journal Cell, also discovered that some SARS-CoV-2 antibodies bind to tissue samples from various organs, which could potentially trigger undesired side effects. Initially, the scientists from Germany's Charite hospital and German Neurodegenerative Diseases Centre (DZNE) isolated almost 600 different antibodies from the blood of <keyword id="639956" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="individuals">individuals</keyword> who had overcome Covid-19. By means of laboratory tests, they were able to narrow this number down to a few antibodies that were particularly effective at binding to the virus. Next, they produced these antibodies artificially using cell cultures. The identified so-called neutralizing antibodies bind to the virus, as crystallographic analysis reveals, and thus prevent the pathogen from entering cells and reproducing. In addition, virus recognition by antibodies helps immune cells to eliminate the pathogen. Studies on hamsters - which, like humans, are susceptible to infection by SARS-CoV-2 - confirmed the high efficacy of the selected antibodies: "If the antibodies were given after an infection, the hamsters developed mild disease symptoms at most. If the antibodies were applied preventively - before infection - the animals did not get sick," said study author <keyword id="10000661" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="jakob-kreye">Jakob Kreye</keyword> from DZNE. Treating infectious diseases with antibodies has a long history. For Covid-19, this approach is also being investigated through the administration of plasma derived from the blood of recovered patients. With the plasma, antibodies of donors are transferred. "Three of our antibodies are particularly promising for clinical development," explained Harald Prüss, a research group leader at the DZNE. "Using these antibodies, we have started to develop a passive vaccination against SARS-CoV-2," Prüss added. In addition to the treatment of patients, <keyword id="10000660" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="preventive-protection">preventive protection</keyword> of healthy individuals who have had contact with infected persons is also a potential application. How long the protection lasts will have to be investigated in clinical studies. "This is because, unlike in active vaccination, passive vaccination involves the administration of ready-made antibodies, which are degraded after some time," Prüss said. In general, the protection provided by a passive vaccination is less persistent than that provided by an active vaccination. However, the effect of a passive vaccination is almost immediate, whereas with an active vaccination it has to build up first. "It would be best if both options were available so that a flexible response could be made on the situation," the authors wrote. <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/pictures-of-farmers-protests-across-india-against-the-countrys-new-agricultural-bills-2020/slidelist/78316310.cms">IN PICS: Farmer protests erupt across India against the country’s new agricultural bills</a>

German researchers identify effective antibodies against  SARS-CoV-2

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="12609335" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="zoos" source="Orion">Zoos</keyword> in <keyword id="6356687" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="canada" source="Orion">Canada</keyword> will give COVID-19 vaccinations for animals, including Assiniboine Park Zoo.</li><li>Zoetis, a Veterinary pharmaceutical giant, is donating 900 doses for 450 animals from lions to apes.</li></ul>Animals from big cats to primates in Canadian zoos are getting vaccinated against the coronavirus, <a href="https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/reopening-canada/lions-and-tigers-but-not-bears-six-canadian-zoos-will-be-getting-covid-19-vaccines-for-animals">Ottawa Citizen reports</a>.Veterinary pharmaceutical giant Zoetis made an experimental COVID-19 vaccine and is donating 900 doses to animals in six Canadian zoos, according to the newspaper.The vaccine isn't commercially available yet, but is has a permit from the US Department of Agriculture and the Canadian Centre for Veterinary Biologics of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency authorized it for experimental use, Zoetis spokesperson Christina Lood told Ottawa Citizen. By the end of the year, Lood said she expects 450 zoo animals to receive the two doses, three weeks apart, according to the same article. "When animals are in our care, it's important to do everything we can to keep them healthy and happy," Chris Enright, the veterinarian at the Assiniboine Park Zoo in Winnipeg, one of the six receiving the donation, told Ottawa Citizen. "There's an important role for vaccinations to play in this effort, including the emerging animal-specific COVID-19 vaccination."Big cats, apes, otters, and hyenas are some zoo animals that are <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-outbreak-iowa-deer-reservoir-covid-19-2021-11">susceptible to the virus</a>, according to Ottawa Citizen. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/can-pets-get-or-spread-coronavirus-experts-say-no-2020-3">Pets can get it too</a>, but they're considered low-risk cases, Lood told Ottawa Citizen, adding that if that changes, Zoetis will rapidly develop a vaccine for domestic animals.Zoetis has been working on the vaccine since a dog in Hong Kong was diagnosed with COVID-19 in February 2020, Ottawa Citizen reports, and Zoetis donated its first doses for emergency use to great apes at the San Diego Zoo in January 2021. Last month, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/zoos-have-started-vaccinating-animals-against-the-coronavirus/2021/10/21/e07d6caa-26d0-11ec-9de8-156fed3e81bf_story.html">The Washington Post reported</a> that US zoos including Oakland, Denver, St. Louis and the Smithsonian's National Zoo have all started to receive vaccines from Zoetis, and vaccination administers are using treats from ice cream to marshmallows to get the animals, from lions to tigers and bears, to oblige. Unlike the human COVID-19 vaccine, Zoetis said the animal version doesn't use a live virus or messenger RNA, Lood told Ottawa Citizen. Zoetis didn't immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

Zoos in Canada will give COVID-19 vaccinations to animals

<ul class="summary-list"><li>US soldiers don't need to get vaccinated if it burdens their conscience, a US archbishop has said.</li><li>The US military said in August that all troops must be vaccinated, or apply for an exemption.</li></ul>A US archbishop said Catholic soldiers don't have to get vaccinated against COVID-19, defying the wishes of <keyword id="11906559" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="pope-francis" source="Orion">Pope Francis</keyword>.On August 24, the Department of Defense announced that all 2.1 million US troops must be vaccinated. A number of personnel applied for exemptions on religious grounds, but <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/army-officer-who-got-other-vaccines-resigns-over-covid-vaccine-2021-9">several quit in protest.</a>Active-duty US Air Force personnel must be vaccinated by November 2, active-duty US Navy and Marine personnel by November 28, and active duty US Army personnel by December 15.But <a href="https://files.milarch.org/archbishop/abp-statement-on-covid19-vaccines-and-conscience-12oct2021.pdf">in a statement released Tuesday</a>, Timothy P. Broglio, the Archbishop for the Military Services, said that Catholic soldiers should not have to get vaccinated."No one should be forced to receive a COVID-19 <keyword id="11894310" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="vaccine" source="Orion">vaccine</keyword> if it would violate the sanctity of his or her conscience," Broglio wrote. As of October 10, hundreds of thousands of US troops remain unvaccinated, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2021/10/10/military-vaccine-mandate/">according to The Washington Post.</a>Opposition to the vaccine in the Catholic faith, as Broglio wrote, stems from the fact that a number used cells derived from aborted fetuses as part of their development. <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/factcheck-johnson-aborted-idUSL1N2LU1T9">No tissue related</a> to fetal cells are present in any of the finished vaccines, and the use of cells in the development and production of medicines, including vaccines, is common in medicine.Manufacturers and scientists use fetal cell lines - which is not the same as fetal tissue - from fetuses that were aborted decades ago and replicate for decades in laboratories.Catholic leaders <a href="https://www.insider.com/catholic-bishops-say-avoid-vaccine-made-with-aborted-fetal-cells-2021-3" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">said</a> they viewed the Pfizer and Moderna as acceptable, because the vaccines used the fetal cell lines in their development but not production.But the US Conference of Catholic Bishops <a href="https://www.insider.com/catholic-bishops-say-avoid-vaccine-made-with-aborted-fetal-cells-2021-3" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">said in March</a> that the Johnson &amp; Johnson vaccine is considered ethically questionable as the cells are used in its production."The Johnson &amp; Johnson vaccine was developed, tested, and is produced, with abortion-derived cell lines. That vaccine is, therefore, more problematic," Broglio wrote. <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/factcheck-johnson-aborted-idUSL1N2LU1T9">Reuters reported</a> that Johnson &amp; Johnson used cells that originally came from an 18-week-old fetus that was aborted in 1985.Broglio said it is acceptable for Catholic soldiers to pass on all vaccines, due to the issue of fetal cells.Broglio's statement stands in stark contrast to Pope Francis' <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/pope-francis-urges-people-to-get-vaccinated-against-covid-19-in-new-video-10461118">decision to urge all Catholics to get vaccinated in August</a>. The Pope was first vaccinated in January. Broglio said in his statement that it was important that troops who decline the vaccine embrace all "means to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 through wearing face coverings, social distancing, undergoing routine testing, [and] quarantining."

US archbishop says Catholic soldiers shouldn't have to get the COVID-19 vaccine, defying Pope Francis' advice

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A <keyword id="11918419" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="colorado" source="Orion">Colorado</keyword> woman was denied an organ transplant after refusing to get a <keyword id="11896806" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="covid-19-vaccine" source="Orion">COVID-19 vaccine</keyword>, <a href="https://coloradosun.com/2021/10/08/kidney-transplant-covid-vaccine-colorado/">the AP reported</a>.</li><li>Like many hospitals, Colorado's UCHealth prioritizes patients who are more likely to survive after surgery.</li><li>Vaccinated people fall into that category, since they're well protected against COVID-19.</li></ul>Leilani Lutali was due for an organ transplant to treat her stage 5 kidney disease. But her hospital, UCHealth in Colorado, requires transplant patients to get a COVID-19 vaccine. Lutali refused the shot, <a href="https://coloradosun.com/2021/10/08/kidney-transplant-covid-vaccine-colorado/">the Associated Press reported</a>, leaving her to search for a different hospital that might approve the surgery. UCHealth is denying transplants to unvaccinated people "in almost all situations," the health system<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2021/10/05/uchealth-transplant-unvaccinated/"> told The Washington Post</a>, since these individuals are more likely than vaccinated people to die of COVID-19.Dan Weaver, a spokesperson for UCHealth, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2021/10/05/uchealth-transplant-unvaccinated/">told The Post</a> that the policy aligns with a common practice of prioritizing people who are more likely to survive a transplant, and less likely to require another one down the line. The Cleveland Clinic, one of the largest hospitals in the US, also requires transplant recipients to get a COVID-19 shot. Lutali, who works as a tech recruiter, is Catholic, and said her decision not to get the vaccine was based on concerns about the connection between vaccines and aborted fetal cells, the AP reported. COVID-19 vaccines don't contain any fetal tissue - rather, they're developed using cells that descend from fetal tissue collected several decades ago.Her wait could be long: More than 100,000 Americans are on a waitlist for an organ transplant, and deciding who to prioritize is complicated business. Patients must be deemed a good match for an organ based on their height, weight, blood type, and geographic location. Many transplant centers require patients to get other vaccines and abstain from drinking or smoking.<h2>In transplant decisions, a key question: Who's most likely to live?</h2>Deciding who's eligible for surgery based on vaccination status raises complicated ethical questions."Each individual [transplant] center is wrestling with what to do about COVID vaccination status," Arthur Caplan, a bioethicist at New York University, told Insider."You try to maximize lives saved, years of life saved, and even, to some extent, quality of life saved with your scarce supply," he added. "I don't see why we wouldn't be doing that with COVID and vaccination status."<div type="image" title="louisiana covid hospital" height="3446" width="5085" msid="86839244" hostid="261"></div>Healthcare systems across the US vie for organs from a national waitlist managed by the nonprofit United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS). UNOS has guidelines for how to make the best use of a limited organ supply and prevent discrimination based on demographic factors like sex, religion, or financial status. But health systems can determine independently whether to add or remove someone from the waitlist."The general principle driving the list used to be, 'Who's sickest? Who's going to die if they don't get it?'" Caplan said. "That slowly has been shifting toward, 'Who's most likely to live, and how do we get the most benefit from the scarce supply?'"There are a few reasons for that, he added: <keyword id="12264045" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="organ-transplants" source="Orion">Organ transplants</keyword> started to have a better success rate around the early 2000s, so transplant centers began to worry more about "wasting" organs on people who were likely to die anyway. Transplant centers are also evaluated based on their success rates, which can inform whether they remain eligible for organs from UNOS."That puts even more pressure to have organs that work for one year, two years, and five years," Caplan said. "So they are in a way incentivized not to take higher-risk people - and that would include non-vaccinated people for both flu and COVID."<div type="image" title="a man with a heart transplant seen getting a COVID-19 shot" height="1397" width="2100" msid="86839245" hostid="261"></div>Many medical experts agree that it's important to consider a person's vaccination status ahead of a transplant, along with other risk factors.Transplant patients have a much higher risk of dying from COVID-19 than the average person, since their immune systems do a poorer job of vanquishing the virus. Studies <a href="https://www.kidney-international.org/article/S0085-2538(20)31202-3/fulltext">have shown</a> that kidney transplant recipients with COVID-19 have a mortality rate between 13% and 39%. (The <a href="https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/data/mortality">COVID-19 mortality rate across the entire US</a> is around 1.6%.)There's also a small risk that transplant patients will receive an organ from someone who's had COVID-19, and could therefore inherit a previously undetected infection.Overall, unvaccinated Americans are <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/unvaccinated-people-much-more-likely-to-die-cdc-data-2021-9" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">11 times more likely to die from COVID-19</a> than fully vaccinated Americans, according to a September study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This story has been updated with new information. It was originally published October 7.

A Colorado woman couldn't get a kidney transplant because she refused a COVID-19 vaccine - a policy at many hospitals

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Mucorymycosis has been seen in patients with particularly severe cases of <keyword id="8763838" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="covid-19">COVID-19</keyword>.</li><li>The fungal infection has a high mortality rate, requiring the removal of infected tissue.</li><li>Doctors in <keyword id="62607" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="oman">Oman</keyword> have encountered at least three COVID-19 patients with "<keyword id="10432869" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="black-fungus">black fungus</keyword>," the AP said.</li></ul>Doctors in Oman, a small nation on the Arabian Peninsula, have encountered at least three COVID-19 patients with "black fungus," <a href="https://apnews.com/article/middle-east-oman-coronavirus-pandemic-health-246cacac9e361f17e787ca5c3f08365b">the Associated Press reported</a> Tuesday.The fungal infection, known as mucorymycosis, can be fatal. The news comes as Oman faces a surge in <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="coronavirus">coronavirus</keyword> cases brought about, in part, by the fact that more than 90% of its population has not yet been vaccinated, according to the AP report.According to the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/fungal/covid-fungal.html">US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention</a>, people with severe cases of COVID-19 "are particularly vulnerable to bacterial and fungal infections." The use of "high-dose corticosteroids and tocilizumab," a monoclonal antibody, can also predispose patients to infection from fungal spores.Signs of infection include black lesions on the nose or inside the mouth, according to the CDC.The problem of black fungus has been particularly acute in <keyword id="3658" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="India">India</keyword>, where several states have declared it an epidemic amid the spread of a coronavirus variant officially known as B.1.617, but more recently renamed Delta, that appears to be more contagious than the original. As Insider <a href="https://www.insider.com/indias-covid-crisis-compounded-by-black-fungus-epidemic-spreading-hospitals-2021-5">has reported</a>, black fungus has a 50% mortality rate "and requires all infected tissues to be removed for patients to have a fighting chance."

Oman reports new cases of black fungus in COVID-19 patients following 'epidemic' of the infection in India

<ul class="summary-list"><li>An <keyword id="6562600" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="AntiBody">antibody</keyword> cocktail President <keyword id="6354862" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="trump">Trump</keyword> received for his COVID-19 treatment was tested using <keyword id="6437514" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="stem-cells">stem cells</keyword> derived from a fetus that was aborted in 1972 in the Netherlands. </li><li>Antiabortion organizations have spoken out against the use of these stem cells, which have been lab-engineered and duplicated, to test vaccines. Trump has also restricted use of these stem cells in research.</li><li>Three leaders of antiabortion organizations told Insider that though the testing wasn't ethical, they stood behind Trump's decision.</li><li>One said Trump has been "sensational on the life issues."</li></ul>Antiabortion groups told Insider they took no issue with the fact that one of President Donald Trump's COVID-19 treatments — which he is now vowing to make available to all Americans — was <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-coronavirus-treatment-regeneron-tested-cells-derived-abortion-2020-10">tested using cells that originally came from an abortion</a>.It is a research practice <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(19)31400-X/fulltext">Trump has severely restricted</a> during his presidency and one pro-life groups have <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=93007&amp;page=1ge=1">vehemently opposed</a>.To treat Trump, doctors gave him supplemental oxygen and treatments including a steroid typically used in severe COVID-19 cases and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-coronavirus-treatment-regeneron-tested-cells-derived-abortion-2020-10">an experimental antibody cocktail</a> created by the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/regeneron">US biotech company Regeneron</a>.To test the antibody cocktail's effectiveness, Regeneron used an "immortalized epithelial cell line," or cells that were altered in a lab so they could last forever when they otherwise would not. These cells, now called HEK 293T cells, were derived from the kidneys <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/suppl/2020/06/15/science.abd0827.DC1/abd0827_Hansen_SM.pdf">of a fetus that was aborted in 1972 in the Netherlands</a>.When Insider asked three antiabortion organizations — the Heritage Foundation, Texas Alliance for Life, and Pro-Life Action League — about the origin of Trump's COVID-19 treatment, they demurred.In the past, antiabortion advocates have <a href="https://www.sciencemag.org/sites/default/files/Letter-to-FDA-urging-ethical-COVID-vaccines.April%2017%202020.pdf">spoken out</a> <a href="https://www.usccb.org/news/2020/catholic-bishops-pro-life-chairman-applauds-trump-administration-ethical-scrutiny-fetal">against medical treatments</a> that use components derived from aborted fetal tissue at any point in the creation and testing processes, including experimental <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="coronavirus">coronavirus</keyword> vaccines.However, each group told Insider they would not engage in this controversy — some because they said they believed the cells used in testing bore little connection to the 1972 <keyword id="6357791" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="abortion">abortion</keyword> and others because the antibody cocktail itself didn't contain traces of fetal tissue.One organization's executive director told Insider they had no criticism of Trump and supported him because he opposes abortion and has vowed to overturn Roe v. Wade, which would remove Americans' automatic right to abortion.<h2>The fetal connection, explained</h2>In Regeneron's testing of the drug, the fetal cells were used to create virus particles that mimicked the coronavirus. Those, in turn, were <a href="https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/10/heres-what-known-about-president-donald-trump-s-covid-19-treatment">tested on mice antibodies and antibodies from a live human</a> donor who had recovered from COVID-19.According to MIT Technology Review, most scientists <a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/10/07/1009664/trumps-antibody-treatment-was-tested-using-cells-from-an-abortion/">don't view HEK 293T cells as fetal cells</a> because of how many times they've been divided, changed, and used over the past few decades."It's how you want to parse it," Alexandra Bowie, a spokeswoman for Regeneron, told the <a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/10/07/1009664/trumps-antibody-treatment-was-tested-using-cells-from-an-abortion/">MIT Technology Review</a>. "But the 293T cell lines available today are not considered fetal tissue, and we did not otherwise use fetal tissue."A Regeneron representative <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-coronavirus-treatment-regeneron-tested-cells-derived-abortion-2020-10">previously told Insider</a> these cells "are immortalized epithelial cells, not stem cells, embryonic stem cells, or fetal tissue." Pro-choice advocates have called Trump's use of the treatment <a href="https://www.thecut.com/2020/10/trump-covid-cure-regeneron-developed-using-fetal-tissue.html">hypocritical</a>.Mary Alice Carter, a senior advisor to Equity Forward, a watchdog group that monitors the influence of abortion opponents within the administration, told <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/trump-antibody-treatment-fetal-tissue/2020/10/08/92f9b2d6-0971-11eb-9be6-cf25fb429f1a_story.html">The Washington Post</a> that Trump "has politically sided with folks who want to see these cell lines no longer used for therapies but went ahead and received it himself."<h2>Antiabortion groups have opposed using human stem-cell testing for vaccines</h2>Texas Alliance for Life, the Heritage Foundation, and Pro-Life Action League, plus others that didn't respond to Insider's requests for comment, have opposed the use of human stem cells, including those derived from aborted fetuses, to test vaccines including a potential COVID-19 shot.On April 17, antiabortion advocates <a href="https://www.sciencemag.org/sites/default/files/Letter-to-FDA-urging-ethical-COVID-vaccines.April%2017%202020.pdf">wrote a letter</a> to Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Stephen Hahn asking the agency to find "ethical" ways to test a COVID-19 vaccine that would not involve cells from abortions.The letter has signatures from 20 "pro-life" organization leaders including Debi Vinnedge, the president and executive director of Children of God for Life, an antiabortion group. Children of God for Life and the National Institute of Family and Life Advocates, a similar group, denied Insider's request for comment on the origin of Regeneron's treatment and the president's endorsement of the drug.<h2>One antiabortion advocate said it is not hypocrisy because Trump and his doctors weren't involved in the abortion itself</h2>Eric Scheidler, the executive director of Chicago's Pro-Life Action League, said Trump's use of the Regeneron cocktail was ethical because the president was far removed from the abortion itself."In the case of President Trump, the doctors who are providing those medicines to him, those treatments to him, they were not involved with that abortion that took place decades ago," Scheidler told Insider. "They didn't assist in it. They didn't choose for it to happen. They may even wish that it had never happened, even if they're benefiting from something that came from that injustice."<h2>Some called the experiments to test the treatment unethical</h2>In an email to Insider, a Heritage Foundation spokesperson pointed to a <a href="https://twitter.com/DrTaraSanderLee/status/1313960788743401472">Twitter thread</a> from Dr. Tara Sander Lee, the Charlotte Lozier Institute's director of life sciences.Lee called the experiments that used cells derived from aborted fetal tissue "not ethical" but didn't call the antibody cocktail itself unethical because it doesn't contain the cells in question."The abortion-derived cell line, HEK293, was used in experiments to test the antibodies, separate from antibody cocktail for treating COVID-19 patients," Lee wrote. "These experiments are not ethical, but it's important to understand no fetal cell lines were used to make antibody cocktail."When Insider asked the spokesperson if Heritage Foundation stood behind Lee's Twitter statements, they said: "You bet. The Lozier Institute is a trusted ally and coalition partner, and the Heritage Foundation values their scholars' expert opinions, including Dr. Lee, who has spoken on a panel here at Heritage on more than one occasion."Joe Pojman, the executive director for Texas Alliance for Life, cited a <a href="https://lozierinstitute.org/cli-responds-to-misinformation-regarding-president-trumps-covid-19-treatment/">Lozier Institute post</a> that said the antibody treatment itself doesn't contain aborted fetus-derived cells. The post, coauthored by Lee, didn't mention the use of aborted-fetus-derived cells to test the antibody treatment.<h2>Trump has been 'sensational on the life issues'</h2>Pojman also told Insider that Texas Alliance for Life stood behind Trump and his COVID-19 treatment choice."We continue to be very enthusiastic about endorsing president Donald Trump for reelection. He has been sensational on the life issues, and we're very grateful to him for that," Pojman told Insider.He said his organization saw "no reason for us to be concerned" about Trump's treatment."With regard to his treatment for COVID-19, it's our understanding that all of the medications he has taken have been researched and developed without the use of cells taken from aborted babies. There may be some testing involved" that used cells derived from an aborted fetus, Pojman said.He said in an ideal world, "there should be no involvement with cells that have been harvested from aborted babies," and Texas Alliance for Life "would not support any further destruction of unborn babies in order to harvest cells that are used in the development of any drug or device for medical treatment."

Antiabortion groups say they stand behind Trump's use of a drug tested on cells derived from an aborted fetus because the president 'was not involved with that abortion'

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The Monterey Bay Aquarium in <keyword id="11892889" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="california" source="Orion">California</keyword> has vaccinated eight sea otters against the <keyword id="11893194" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="coronavirus" source="Orion">coronavirus</keyword>.</li><li>The zoo chose to vaccinate its otters because of a belief that they're susceptible to the virus.</li></ul>An aquarium in California has vaccinated eight sea otters since August to protect them against <keyword id="11893994" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="covid-19" source="Orion">COVID-19</keyword>. "There's a lot of evidence that this family of <keyword id="11897851" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="animals" source="Orion">animals</keyword> - ferrets, mink, otters - are susceptible," Dr. Mike Murray, chief veterinarian at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, told the <a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/health/covid-sea-otters-being-given-vaccines-at-monterey-bay-aquarium/">Seattle Times</a>. "We have an obligation to protect the animals' <keyword id="11894571" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="health" source="Orion">health</keyword>."Each of the eight otters received two doses, three weeks apart, the Times reported. The vaccine they received is from a New Jersey-based company called Zoetis, known for manufacturing animal drugs. Four of the otters - Ivy, Abby, Kit, and Selka - are aquarium residents, according to the Times, while the other four are rescues who were separated from their mothers in the wild. The fear is that sea otters - considered an <a href="https://www.fws.gov/ventura/endangered/species/info/sso.html#:~:text=Southern%20sea%20otters%20(Enhydra%20lutris,the%20primary%20reasons%20for%20listing.">endangered species</a> - will contract the coronavirus and create an outbreak, causing the population to dwindle.There have been reports of otters contracting the disease in the United States. Earlier this year, or example, an aquarium in Georgia said its Asian small-clawed otters <a href="https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/newsroom/stakeholder-info/sa_by_date/sa-2021/sa-04/covid-georgia-otters">tested positive for the virus that causes COVID-19</a>. Those otters exhibited various symptoms, including sneezing and coughing. Monterey Bay is believed to be the first aquarium in the country to vaccinate sea otters against the coronavirus. The otters have not displayed any adverse reactions to the vaccine, Murray told the Times. "They don't seem to miss a beat," he said.Sea otters dive deep into the ocean to find food on the sea floor, so if they're lethargic or unable to breathe properly, they won't be able to survive. "The virus is respiratory," Murray told the Times. "A sea otter in the wild is an Olympic-class athlete. If they can't touch the bottom, they will starve. They've got to be able to breathe effectively so they can hunt."A zoo in Ohio is planning to <a href="https://fox8.com/news/coronavirus/akron-zoo-says-lions-are-now-covid-free-vaccinations-underway-for-dozens-of-animals/">vaccinate 16 species of animals</a>, from its Sumatran tigers to lemurs to goats. The decision comes after five of the zoo's lions <a href="https://twitter.com/AkronZoo/status/1456290524005085184">tested positive for COVID-19</a>. The Oakland Zoo in California has vaccinated some of its animals, like <a href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/article/oakland-zoo-animal-covid-vaccine/">mountain lions and gibbons</a>, as well.

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