#Moderna and pfizer vaccine production how to#

In the early days, scientists used animal cells. But vaccines manufacturers prefer to grow the virus in mammal cells, mainly because they help prevent the virus from mutating and help scale production. Scientists use fertilized chicken eggs, for instance, as hosts to multiply influenza viruses and produce the annual flu vaccines. To mass produce vaccines, manufacturers need a way to make enormous quantities of the viral components.

#Moderna and pfizer vaccine production how to#

This enables the immune system to remember a specific virus and how to destroy it if the body ever encounters the germ in the future. Vaccines typically deliver small doses of weakened or inactivated versions of the virus, or key parts of it, to give the host body a preview of the pathogen without causing illness. Unlike bacteria, viruses need a host to survive they can only grow and reproduce inside the host cells they infect.

Why are fetal cells necessary for drug development Here is the history of how fetal cells are used in drug development, where the cells come from, and why it’s been so hard to find alternatives. Richard Zimmerman, a family medicine specialist at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and a part-time physician at Pittsburgh’s East Liberty Family Health Care Center, says that some of his patients have voiced scepticism because they believe the COVID-19 vaccines contain cells from aborted fetuses. But they reiterated the message from the Vatican justifying the use of vaccines, lacking alternatives, as an act of charity and moral responsibility in situations of serious health danger, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.Īlthough it’s unclear how many religious exemptions for COVID-19 shots have been granted so far, those applying are required to prove “religious sincerity” and in some cases attest that they will also avoid the routine drugs developed using fetal cells.īut doctors worry that some people’s objections may stem in part from misunderstandings of the science. Conference of Catholic Bishops referred to these cell lines as morally compromised for their connection, albeit remote, with abortions. “Their use in developing COVID-19 vaccines isn’t anything different or special.”įor some religious leaders, the science is informing their recommendations. “So many people don’t realize how important fetal cell lines are to develop life-saving medicines and vaccines that they rely on every day,” says Amesh Adalja, an infectious disease expert at Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.

These same cell lines are also used to test and advance our understanding of several routine drugs, including acetaminophen, ibuprofen, and aspirin, and they continue to be used for treatment research in diseases such as Alzheimer’s and hypertension. The cells are grown in a laboratory and were derived from a few elective abortions performed more than three decades ago. It’s true that such cells have been used either in the testing or development and production of COVID-19 vaccines. And one common reason people give for religious exemptions is the link between vaccines and human fetal cells. The number of applications is likely to spike as the January 4 vaccination deadline nears for large private businesses and some healthcare facilities. In the wake of federal vaccine mandates in the U.S., debate has erupted over the waves of fire fighters, police staff, and other workers who have applied for religious exemptions to getting their COVID-19 shots.