Christians should be vaccinated against Covid?

On 30 December 2021 Last update 13 April 2023 1,318

Just use religion as an excuse for the COVID-19 vaccine. Getting vaccinated is the most Christian thing to do.

Nearly half of evangelicals say they will not get vaccinated. But love of neighbor should inspire every single Christian to protect the community to which they belong, to protect the weak and the immunosuppressed who cannot receive the vaccine, each of us should do our part and contribute to achieving herd immunity.

The opinion of Dr.. Andrew Wong

As a doctor and a Christian, I am struck by the profound difference my Christian brothers could make in the fight against the pandemic by getting vaccinated. The variant Delta, a much more transmissible form of COVID -19, and now also Omicron, they threaten our lives again and still cause a high number of deaths, as well as causing the national health system around the world to collapse. The deaths concern almost exclusively people who have not been vaccinated.

At the beginning of this year, according to a survey by Pew Research Center, the 45% of American evangelical adults said they would not get vaccinated. This equates to more than 45 millions of Americans or the 14% of the population, based on the census of 2020 of the American religion. If this group alone accepted the COVID-19 vaccine, we could begin to approach herd immunity and move beyond this painful and deadly phase.

And while I feel helpless to do or say anything to overcome the political divisions that help make people hesitant about the vaccine, i am just as sure that the most loving and selfless Christians who understood the message of universal love of Jesus Christ Christ will eventually accept the vaccine.

The reasons for Christian hesitation on the vaccine are various, but the most compelling reason to overcome this indecision is what Jesus described as the second great commandment after loving the Lord your God: love your neighbor as yourself. Followers of Christ are called to sacrifice themselves in His name as Jesus offered himself as the perfect sacrifice to atone for our sins.

As Paul wrote in his letter to the Philippians:

“Each of you looks not only at your own interest, but also to that of others ".

In his letter to the Ephesians, he invited us to “submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.”

God blesses the doctors

I have heard some Christians say that the pandemic is God's will and that God will decide whether we live or die, then they will leave their fate in the hands of God. I too submit my life to God and I understand that my every breath is granted by Him. But I would never have become a doctor if I thought that helping people prevent and heal disease was against God's will.

Unlike, I believe I can be an instrument of God's mercy, as are the researchers and pharmaceutical professionals who created the vaccine and the many hands that gave it to us. Jesus, indeed, he identified himself as the great physician when he was criticized for spending time with social undesirables such as tax collectors: “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, and in malati.”

In the Old Testament, the prophet Ezekiel taught that «thus says the Sovereign Lord: Woe to you shepherds of Israel who only take care of yourselves!… You have not fortified the weak, nor healed the sick, nor bandaged the wounded ".

And this was reinforced by Jesus in the parable of the good Samaritan. Jesus gave an example of how we should treat our neighbors when he described how the Samaritan encountered a half-dead wanderer on the road and “wrapped up his wounds, pouring oil and wine. A priest and a Levite first passed the traveler and ignored his suffering, crossing the other side of the road. But it was the Samaritan Jesus identified as the neighbor because he cared for the stranger.

Unfortunately, childhood diseases, once almost eradicated, they are on the rise as more and more people refuse vaccinations for their children. Yet practically none of the major religions prohibit vaccination and some consider it a obligation because of the potential to save lives, as COVID-19 vaccines clearly do.

These vaccines do not contain aborted fetal cells, although their development has included the use of fetal cell lines dating back to the 1970s. Let me state unequivocally that abortion and the use of aborted fetal tissue are morally wrong. But I agree with the Vatican management according to which it is “morally acceptable” for Catholics to get COVID-19 vaccines. Their ethical reasoning is solid and should be persuasive for other Christian denominations as well.

Naturally, the ultimate goal for Christians is not just good health in this life, but an eternity with God. When a lawyer asked him what he had to do to inherit eternal life, Jesus sent him back to the law again:

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, with all your strength and with all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself.”

Some Christians try to analyze Scripture to find narrow objections to taking the COVID-19 vaccine, but the general command of our Lord is unmistakable: our actions must be guided by our love for God and love for others.