Supreme Court justice resurfaces COVID-19 vaccines, fetal cells misconception

Some religious groups have argued that the use of fetal cells in the development of COVID-19 vaccines is grounds for religious exemption from mandates. The cells used to develop the vaccines were collected from fetal tissue in the 1970s and ‘80s and have been replicated thousands of times. These cell lines are among the most widely used in biomedical research and in the development of dozens of common drugs, including most over-the-counter pain, allergy, and cold medications, none of which are opposed by anti-vaccine advocates.

Fact-Checking Source(s):

•  Nebraska Medicine
• AFP
• Through Catholic Lenses