I’ve been seeing a lot of discussions, and rightfully so, surrounding the COVID-19 vaccines. Understandably, there are concerns, but unfortunately, some of these concerns stem from misinformation.
I was originally inspired to write this post after reading an article written by LifeSiteNews. I wanted to address the misinformation and tactics in that article.
Then, I wanted to write a more comprehensive post addressing other concerns about the vaccine from a Catholic perspective.
Then, I did a ton of research, and for your sake, I decided to make this a series of posts rather than having an extremely long blog post.
Here are the topics I will be addressing through this series:
- Respecting Life, Science, and Truth
- Fertility Fears
- Pregnancy and Lactation
- How LifeSiteNews is Misleading Readers
- Morality of the Vaccine
- How Fast is Too Fast?
- Choosing to Not Vaccinate
As I publish these posts, I’ll link to them in the list above. If there is another aspect of the vaccine or COVID-19 in general that you would like me to address, please let me know.
My Biases and Limitations
My intention for this series is to provide commentary based on a number of sources I read (which I will cite). I want to be fair and note my biases and limitations:
- Faithful Catholic, but not a theologian – I believe that everything the Church teaches is true. I trust the Magesterium in matters of faith and morals. I strive to live faithfully to all that the Church teaches. But my catechesis growing up was weak, and I recognize that I still have a lot to learn.
- Loves science, but not a medical professional – The first time I was called a nerd was first grade. At my junior prom, one of the first things I did was excitedly tell my AP Chemistry teacher that I got into the women in engineering summer program for which he gave me a recommendation. I earned a B.S. in Chemical Engineering. Part of my education included a bioprocessing course and a course on pharmaceuticals. In the bioprocessing course, we read articles about scientific developments and discussed them. In the pharmaceutical course (and a number of other courses), I read different academic articles and learned how to process the information presented. During college, I worked in the Multiliteracies Center. One of my jobs was to help students with research papers: looking for reputable sources, analyzing sources for their quality of information, and how to use that information. I worked with everyone from freshmen working on the first research paper they ever had to write to Ph.D. candidates working on their thesis. I worked as an engineer for 2.5 years before leaving the field to work at a Catholic non-profit. I share these things not as credentials (because they’re not) but rather to highlight my interests.
- High-risk population – I am one of those high-risk people who are more likely to face serious symptoms if they were to catch Coronavirus. Many people I care deeply about also are considered high-risk.
- Child-bearing age – I am of child-bearing age and hope to have a large family. How something could impact my fertility is important to me. I also have a huge interest in NFP/FAMs. This is something I care about and try to educate myself on.
One Final Note
My intention behind this series is to inform, not shame the people who have concerns. Many of these concerns are legitimate, and I share them. I will be criticizing certain people promoting misinformation, but I do not intend to criticize the average Catholic who is worried.
