Coronavirus
Coronavirus vaccines – Frequently Asked Questions
Is there any scientific possibility that the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines will change human DNA? No. Both these vaccines employ molecules called messenger RNA that have been synthesised in laboratories. After immunisation the molecules are designed to enter into cells within the body where they give the molecular instructions for those cells to produce the…
Read MoreFaith, health and collaborative love – Pandemic partnership for health professionals and the church
This article is republished with kind permission from the Lausanne Movement website where it is also available in French, Spanish and Portuguese. The impact of the church on health and development is much greater than it appears. There are two main reasons for this: First, Christians working at the front line are so busy that…
Read MoreCOVID pandemic: Lessons learnt and the way forward
The COVID-19 pandemic originated in China probably by September 2019 and swept through all the countries of the world causing a public health crisis, overwhelming even well-organised health care systems of the Western world. In its wake there is a huge economic crisis across the globe which threatens the socio-cultural and economic foundations of mankind.…
Read MoreFetal cells and Covid-19 vaccines: Can Thomas Aquinas help?
Ethical concerns have been raised about aborted human fetal cells being used in the creation of some Covid-19 vaccines. Should this preclude their use? Vaccines developed from fetal cells lines are not new. Pharmaceutical companies have found fetal cell lines to be perfect for growing vaccines. These fetal cell lines were originally derived in the…
Read MoreDoes God promise to protect Christians from COVID-19?
Some Christians refuse all vaccines on the basis that they are somehow not natural or that they believe God will protect them from diseases. Some argue that God determines how long we should live so we cannot ‘save’ our lives. But we do things all the time to try and reduce our risk of disease…
Read MoreSome brief Christian considerations on the COVID-19 vaccines
En français After almost a year of socio-political disruption caused by the SARS-CoV-2 RNA virus, some vaccines have received emergency approval for use in the vulnerable and general population. Some countries have received and have begun to vaccinate their people, while others are anxiously awaiting the arrival of the vaccines. Christians and Christian faith communities…
Read MoreFAQ: Coronavirus vaccines Frequently Asked Questions
There is an updated version of this article here. Is there any scientific possibility that the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines will change human DNA? No. Both these vaccines employ molecules called messenger RNA that have been synthesised in laboratories. After immunisation the molecules are designed to enter into cells within the body where they give…
Read MoreCoronavirus vaccines – history, logistics, questions and conspiracies
En français The long-awaited news So, on Wednesday 2 December, the UK became the first nation in the world to approve the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine for medical use. The UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), the medicines watchdog, had given it the thumbs up and granted it temporary authorisation. The roll-out could begin. …
Read MoreCOVID-19: a dental perspective
En français The COVID-19 pandemic has thrown several challenges at dentists and their patients. At the same time, it has given us the opportunity to rethink and realign our approach to oral health in the context of a new normal. In a webinar recorded for the ICMDA recently, I talked about the impacts of COVID…
Read MoreMembers of a whole
The immediate effects of the Covid-19 pandemic are severe enough and sometimes unexpected. The higher Covid-19 mortality amongst healthcare workers and others from black and minority ethnic backgrounds in the UK have not been observed in Africa and South Asia. This has obliged those of us who work in the National Health Service to ask ourselves difficult…
Read More