Frequently Asked Questions

(Updated August 25, 2024)

Information on Flu Shots for the 2024 – 2025 Season

We have posted updated information on the influenza shots for the 2024 – 2025 season. Nothing has changed materially from last year, except for the viral formulation recommended by the CDC. Culturing media does NOT include any aborted fetal cell lines – the same media is used again this year. Combination shots that include SARS-CoV-2 and influenza, and mRNA influenza shots have not yet been approved. Approvals are not likely for this flu season. Please follow this link for more information.

Information on Flu Shots for the 2023 – 2024 Season

We have updated information on the viral formulation and production methods for approved influenza shots. In summary, this season’s shots are produced in the same manner as in recent years past.  Avian cells (chicken eggs), insect cell lines and non-human mammalian cell lines (MDCK canine cell lines) are the culturing media used.  Please follow this link for more information.

People continue to ask about mRNA flu shots and the status of a ‘universal’ flu shot in development.  Moderna has announced that they are working on mRNA combination shots for influenza, COVID-19 and other viral infections, and the NIH has announced the initiation of clinical trials for a ‘universal’ flu shot.  Neither of these vaccines are approved for use at this time – they are still in development and/or trials.  Please refer to this brief post for more information on the ‘universal’ flu shot in clinical trials.

“I need help with an exemption!”

Email us for this. Dr. Jose Trasancos, CEO of Children of God for Life will work with you one-on-one to help you take a stand. Every situation is different. Please be aware that he spends 12+ hours a day most days working on this and insists that it remain on an individual basis. We could use some help in the form of prayers, encouragement, or financial contributions. Even small $5/month commitments allow us to plan and grow this work.

Is there a list of products that use aborted fetal cell lines?

A complete list would be impossible to make, but we do have this short list here. There are over 21,000 prescription medicines licensed and approved for use in the U.S. and a similar number of over-the-counter (OTC) medicines. To research and compile a list of all of those products that have used or been tested with fetal cell lines would be a lifetime worth of work. Further, such a list would be unmaintainable and never fully correct because there are always new pharmaceuticals, and it would depend on the researchers and manufacturers revealing details about fetal tissue and fetal cell line use. We are seeking more effective strategies for fighting the use of aborted children in science and medicine. See the opinion piece by Stacy Trasancos at Catholic World Report on March 3, 2021, “It’s Time to Get Beyond Vaccines.” This is the direction we are going at Children of God for Life.

What about the claim (originating with Fr. Matthew Schneider) that aspirin, acetaminophen, ibuprofen, Tums, Pepto Bismol, etc. use aborted fetal cell lines?

With regard to the now-common claim being lifted off the internet by companies imposing vaccine mandates, know that aspirin, acetaminophen, ibuprofen, Tums, Pepto Bismol and almost all the medicines listed were not developed with aborted fetal cells. Most of them were developed years (or decades) before aborted fetal cell lines were available to researchers. Please see this post on our website, Let’s Get A Few Things Cleared Up: Testing, Cell Lines and Fetal Tissue. Also see this reference summary of fourteen medicines we researched independently. All fourteen were incorrectly represented by Fr. Matthew Schneider’s article.

What about Corbevax, Covaxin, and Novavax?

See our full post on these three vaccines being produced in other countries and possibly candidates for the U.S. market. In summary, initial indications were that Corbevax was ethically researched, developed and tested, without connection to abortion. The research team did not DIRECTLY use aborted fetal cell lines in their development and testing processes; however, a thorough review of the literature revealed the use of two biologics that are produced in aborted fetal cell lines. Novavax claims that their product did not make use of aborted fetal cell lines, not in any way in the development and/or testing of their vaccine candidate. However, their own scientific literature clearly describes an assessment performed by the Novavax development team that describes the use of HEK-293 cell lines. We have looked at Covaxin very closely and found no direct or indirect association with abortion, but we have reason to believe that the FDA will not approve this any time soon, if ever; see the full post.

Are ethical COVID-19 vaccines coming?

We have closely followed the news, hoping for information on clinical trials results and updated estimates on when that day might come. In that time, we’ve seen a number of vaccine candidates drop off the list of the morally uncompromised. Sanofi Pasteur/GSK, Medicago and Novavax are notable examples of what we hoped would be moral options authorized for use by the FDA. There are two remaining in trials that have a chance of near-term authorization, unfortunately we believe that an ethical option may not be available for years. The choice may soon come down to being pushed or pushing back. See this short post, “Get Ready, Ethical COVID-19 Vaccines are Probably Not Coming” for more details.

Are monoclonal antibodies abortion-tainted drugs?

Some are and some are not. (See our link here.) A monoclonal antibody is an antibody (a protein) that is produced by a single clone of cells and has identical antibody molecules on the protein. The one of greatest interest these days is REGEN-COV from Regeneron. It is a combination to two monoclonal antibodies, casirivimab (REGN10933) and imdevimab (REGN10987). It was developed and tested with the HEK-293T aborted fetal cell lines according to Regeneron’s publication in Cell journal. Another preprint paper in collaboration with Regeneron describes the use of Freestyle 293 cells in the production of REGN10933 and REGN10987, as does this paper in Science journal. We have not been able to verify whether this same production process is used in manufacturing.

Other monoclonal antibodies of recent interest are (see links for scientific information):

  • Sotrovimab – Biologics code is VIR-7831. Lenti X-293T cells are used in production; see lines 339 and 415. These cells are a subclone of HEK 293. A subclone is a cell that has been genetically modified from a previous instance. This is often done to alter (enhance or attenuate) a cell’s expression characteristics. In this case, the ‘parent’ HEK-293 cell is modified by a DNA segment to enhance the expression of viral proteins and increase the ease of transfection (infection).
  • Casirivimab – Uses ACE2-293, HEK-293T, Freestyle 293 cell lines; see above information for REGEN-COV.
  • Imdevimab – Uses ACE2-293, HEK-293T, Freestyle 293 cell lines; see above information for REGEN-COV.
  • Bamlanivimab – Biologics code is LY-Cov555. This paper describes the use of HD 293F cells in production of the antibody. The Supplemental Materials of this pre-print paper describe the use of the same cells in production and testing.
  • Tocilizumab – Also called RoActemra. Produced in Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cells; see Product Review. The Assessment Report also does not describe the use of any aborted fetal cell lines.
  • Bebtelovimab – Biologics code is LY-CoV1404. This recently authorized monoclonal antibody relied on a number of adaptations of the HEK-293 cell line throughout the development process. Expi293, HEK-293T, 293T- ACE2 and 293 flpin-TMPRSS2-ACE2 cell lines were used, along with insect cell lines, CHO (Chinese Hamster Ovary) and several adaptations of Vero-6 non-human primate cells. This publication in ScienceDirect details the use of the various cell lines.
  • Dupilumab (Dupixent) – This monoclonal antibody was developed and tested using CHO (Chinese Hamster Ovary) cell lines.  The same medium is used for production purposes.  Please refer to the EMA reference documents for more details.

Do the flu shots for this season use aborted fetal cell lines?

The good news is that none of the flu shots for this year were developed or produced using fetal cell lines. Most of the formulations are still based on avian cells (chicken eggs). The cell-based shots used one of two cell lines – the Sf9 insect cell line or the MDCK canine cell line. The following information was taken, in part, from the FDA website:

  • Fluad Quadrivalent – Egg based
  • Afluria Quadrivalent – Egg based
  • Flucelvax Quadrivalent – MDCK (canine) cell line
  • Afluria – Egg based
  • Flulaval – Egg based
  • Fluarix – Egg based
  • Fluvirin – Egg based
  • Agriflu – Egg based
  • Fluozone – Egg based
  • Flucelvax – MDCK (canine) cell line
  • Flublok – Sf9 insect cell line
  • Flumist – Egg based
  • Fluarix Quadrivalent – Egg based
  • Fluzone Quadrivalent – Egg based
  • Flulaval Quadrivalent– Egg based
  • Audenz – MDCK (canine) cell line
  • Influenza A/H5N1 – Egg based

Can they use miscarried babies for research instead of aborted children?

The bodies of miscarried children can sometimes be used with consent of the mother. However, for research that relies on fresh tissues, miscarriages cannot be used because 1) they are unpredictable, and 2) the baby leaves the mother’s body too long after the baby dies to collect useable tissues. Scientists need “fresh” tissue. With abortion, scientists can plan tissue harvesting right after the child is killed. Additionally, there is good reason to think that scientists also harvest organs while the baby is still alive. Here are some articles for more information.