Should Christians get the COVID-19 vaccine? This debate rages in churches all across the nation. Some view the vaccine as a tool for ending our worst pandemic in a century, while others see it as a tool of mass manipulation. In today’s post, we’ll examine the COVID-19 vaccine and how it applies to our lives as Christians.
To vax or not to vax, that is the question.
All across the nation, church pews are filled with the vaccinated and the unvaccinated. There are Christians who jumped at the first chance to get vaccinated, and there are also Christians who vehemently oppose it with all the force of a snowplow.
Our situation is not helped by the fact that there are leaders – even Christian leaders – who give us conflicting advice.
Get the vaccine! Some say.
Avoid it like the plague! Others shout.
With all the noise surrounding this extremely controversial and politicized shot, it can be difficult (if not nearly impossible) to get to the bottom of things.
But that’s exactly what we’re going to try to do today.
Today, we will ask ourselves this question: should Christians get the COVID-19 vaccine?
First Things First: Is the COVID-19 Vaccine Safe?
One of the most commonly-raised objections to the vaccine is this: is the vaccine safe?
Practically all medical scientists respond with a resounding yes.
Studies across the world have shown that the vaccine is remarkably effective in preventing severe illnesses. Such studies have been reviewed by countless universities, labs, governmental organizations, and independent investigators. The results of these studies have never been seriously challenged.
The vaccine is extraordinarily good at what it’s intended for.
Additionally, the COVID-19 vaccine poses almost no health risk to those who do get vaccinated. A common objection to the vaccine’s safety is that it was produced hurriedly – on a far, far shorter timescale than any other commercial vaccine in history – and therefore cannot be trusted.
The claim that it was “produced hurriedly” is true. Previously, the fastest vaccine to go from initial development to public rollout was the Mumps vaccine in the 1960s (source). That process took 4 years.
However, science has evolved significantly since then. Although the vaccines are unprecedented in both how they function and how fast they’ve been developed, severe side-effects seem to be extremely rare. The vaccines also contain no chemicals or added substances that may cause long-term side effects.
Reuters reports that there is a possibility that certain medical conditions are linked to the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, but the occurrences of these side-effects are exceptionally few and far between.
In general, the risks associated with the vaccine are very low. Most over the counter drugs come with more health risks than the COVID-19 vaccine.
On to the Other Stuff: is the Vaccine Morally Acceptable?
Another commonly-raised concern among Christians is that the COVID-19 vaccine may be morally unacceptable. These concerns rest upon a few widely-distributed claims. Let’s examine them here.
1: The vaccines were developed from (and may contain) fetal cells of aborted babies.
If this claim is true, then the ethics of taking this vaccine would be severely called into question. Abortion is wrong (I fully intend to write an article on this subject soon), and therefore anything which comes about as a result of abortion is wrong.
Thankfully, the vaccines do NOT contain any material taken directly from aborted babies. However, the companies that make the vaccines did test the vaccines out on fetal cells.
These fetal cells were not taken directly from an aborted fetus, but they are descended from a fetus aborted many years ago. You can read more about it here, where they go into great depth on this issue. I highly recommend this reading.
To sum it all up, the vaccines were not created from aborted fetuses, and they do not contain any material derived from abortions. However, some of the cells used to test the vaccines are distantly descended from cells obtained via an abortion.
2: The vaccine IS – or is preparing us for – the Mark of the Beast
This is another concern that is common among the Christian community. We know the end times will feature something known as the “Mark of the Beast” that marks the followers of the Antichrist. Many believe this may be administered in the form of a microchip or an injection.
Some Christians today believe this vaccine either IS – or is preparing us for – the Mark of the Beast. These fears are only intensified when organizations such as schools, businesses, and airlines require vaccination.
Aren’t these “vaccine mandates” unprecedented? Don’t they scream of the same kind of control talked about in the Bible when it comes to the Mark of the Beast?
Although the vaccine mandates and the resulting pressure to get vaccinated may indeed be enough to spark fears of impending doom, they are not at all reminiscent of what will happen under the rule of the Antichrist.
When the Antichrist sets up his kingdom, he will intensely persecute all those who do not swear allegiance to him. This will occur along with (or even before) the mark is administered. As the Mark of the Beast is being rolled out, those who don’t bow before the Antichrist will be killed or driven off.
Furthermore, those who deny the mark and manage to escape the persecution will not be able to buy or sell. They will effectively be shut out of the economy of the world, and all of this in the aftermath of extraordinary persecution. Those walking around without the Mark of the Beast will be liable to capture, torture, and death.
Does that sound like what’s going on today?
Although the vaccine mandates may feel like an encroachment on our lives, they are not at all reminiscent of what will happen in the end times. Christians are not being jailed, persecuted, or killed in the United States. A refusal to take the vaccine will not cost you your life.
Additionally, there is no Biblical evidence to suggest that the Mark of the Beast will be shrouded in mystery when it is presented to the world. The mark is something taken (or refused) voluntarily. People will know what it is when the mark is offered. They will be certain of what it actually is. There will be no debate.
It will be impossible for someone to agree to take a vaccine, only to find out some time later that the vaccine was, in fact, the Mark of the Beast. If the COVID-19 vaccine were indeed the mark, there would be no debate as to whether it was the mark or not.
3: The vaccine represents the erosion of liberty in the United States
This is yet another huge concern among many Christians, particularly those of a more patriotic bent. One of the central pillars of the American existence is freedom. Freedom is something that our Founding Fathers fought hard to achieve and preserve.
To many, the enormous pressure to get vaccinated – and the rising frequency of vaccine mandates for employment, education, and entertainment participation – represents an erosion of our long-cherished freedom.
However, vaccines have been a part of American history for well over a century. Vaccine mandates are no different.
The first public vaccine mandate occurred in Massachusetts in the 1850s. This mandate ordered Smallpox vaccines for anyone seeking to enter schools. We’ve had other vaccine mandates across the United States, with as many as 20 states having some form of vaccination requirement to enter school by 1963 (Healthline).
Additionally, many workplaces have required vaccination against certain diseases as a condition of employment. Such requirements have existed for many years and have largely gone uncontested in the public eye.
Outside of school and workplace vaccine requirements, there have even been instances where the general public was ordered to get vaccinated for contagious diseases. The most well-known of these occurred in Cambridge, MA, when the city mandated Smallpox vaccines for all residents during a severe outbreak of the disease in 1901. A resident of the city refused the vaccine, and was subsequently fined $5 (around $150 in today’s money).
This resident took the issue all the way to the Supreme Court, arguing that the vaccine mandate violated his individual liberty and due process of law as protected by the 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution.
The court ultimately ruled against him and established a precedent that governments could indeed make vaccination compulsory.
While these examples do not necessarily provide a robust argument that vaccine mandates are righteous, they do provide precedent. Whenever one argues that liberty is being eroded, he or she must always have a past benchmark against which to compare the present state of liberty.
If there were no instances of vaccine mandates in the past, then there might be cause for concern. However, a quick glance at American history will reveal some surprising occurrences. Vaccines have been around for many, many decades, and vaccine mandates are almost as old as vaccinations themselves.
If we are to judge the “erosion of liberty” by this standard, then I would contend that we are not facing a crisis of liberty in this nation (at least not when it comes to the COVID-19 vaccine). Rather, we’re in the midst of a public health crisis, and it is social media that has allowed faulty or even dangerous ideas to spread like wildfire.
Reasons TO Get the COVID-19 Vaccine
Now that we’ve examined the COVID-19 vaccine’s safety and its potential moral issues, let’s flip the table and look at this perspective from the opposite side: why SHOULD we as Christians get the COVID-19 vaccine?
There are a couple of potential reasons.
The first of these is to protect yourself. COVID-19 vaccines are available in most places for free. Getting the vaccine carries almost no risk, yet it is highly effective at preventing serious illness. If you’re elderly, immunocompromised, or work in a profession where contact with the virus is likely, getting the vaccine makes perfect sense to protect your safety.
Another reason to get the vaccine is to protect others. For those who are not elderly or immunocompromised, this is the single largest reason to get vaccinated. If you’re a healthy 30 year old, for instance, it is highly unlikely that COVID-19 will result in a serious infection.
However, you are still more than capable of transmitting it to others, and those people might not be so fortunate.
The Bible tells us to consider others as more significant than ourselves (Ephesians 2:3). In that vein, getting vaccinated makes perfect sense. It is a way of serving our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. We may not feel that getting the vaccine is necessary, but it does significantly lower the chance that we will pass the virus on to others.
Additionally, consider the state of the Church today. Millions of people are staying home because they fear being infected by the virus. Although virtual church services are certainly better than no service at all, they cannot be a replacement for physically gathering together with God’s people.
As we increase vaccination rates, the likelihood of virus transmission will decrease. Cases of serious disease will fall. More people will feel able to return to church, reconnecting with fellow believers and reigniting spiritual growth.
Conclusion
After some examination, the COVID-19 vaccine seems to harbor little (if any) cause for concern. It is a safe and effective product of modern medical science. Furthermore, getting the vaccine as a way of protecting yourself and others can be a very powerful way of expressing love and honor to your brothers and sisters in Christ.
At the end of the day, there is only one person who can truly decide whether you get the vaccine or not.
That person is you.
If it troubles your conscience to get the vaccine, then avoid getting it. But if you’re able to get the shot, please do consider getting it. The more people we have vaccinated, the better off we are.
Unfortunately, a large amount of vaccine resistance in the United States today seems to be coming from a place of stubborn pride. Those who refuse the vaccine often do so not out of legitimate concern, but out of thinly-veiled pride and hardheadedness. This is not a good reason to not get vaccinated.
If you’re a believer in Christ and you’re torn on the issue of vaccination, I would ask that you search your heart and spend a lot of time in prayer. Are you refusing the vaccine because your conscience troubles you? Are you refusing it out of legitimate concern?
Or are you refusing simply because you feel that you must “take your stand” against a perceived enemy?
Whatever you choose to do, please keep in mind the words of Romans 14:23: whatever is not of faith is sin. It is my hope that you can take the vaccine in faith, yet I recognize that you may not be able to do this. Above all things, seek to obey God in everything.
God bless, and stay safe.