CCBI Resources for Covid-19 – November 27, 2020

Dear Friends of CCBI,

This week brings disappointing news for Canadians about the length of time we might have to wait before vaccines become generally available. First of all, money invested in the Canadian/China vaccine research project vanished into the ether when the Chinese refused to ship some necessary materials to Canada. That was money wasted, while at the same time the Government had done nothing to build up manufacturing capacity. That aspect was apparently written off years ago, deciding that Canada would rely on other countries’ production capabilities. Are we too trusting, or have some of our decisions been dangerously naive? Shouldn’t there always be a national plan in place in case of a possible crisis such as the current pandemic? This is not a new concept: we learned this should be done from our previous SARS experience but, after some years, funding was withdrawn and now we are dependent on suppliers in countries which have their own priorities.
Today’s cartoon in The Globe and Mail sums it up!
The auditor-general of Ontario lambasted that province’s COVID response, saying it was unprepared and reacted badly. Here is a statement in The Globe and Mail with a quote from her Report: “She said her goal is not to assign blame, but to ensure structural problems are fixed. She disagreed with the suggestion that her report was beyond her remit. “Everyone was caught off guard during this, and people make the best decisions they can in a type of crisis,” she said. “But what we’re saying, in a time of crisis, the systems that people needed weren’t in place.” Yet we seemed to manage quite well (with the glaring, tragic exception of our long-term care homes) until the second wave. It’s rather unfair to blame only the government when some in the populace acted as though the virus was either winding down or of little concern. Wrong on both counts!
Nota Bene! A major ethical question for many Catholics and others is whether COVID vaccines coming our way (eventually!) are ethically sourced. This question is asked because vaccines for other diseases have been produced over recent years using cell lines or tissue from aborted fetuses, and sometimes from cell lines taken from IVF embryos which are either unused or unwanted by the mother, and with her permission are then used for experimentation and research. All of these procedures are declared morally wrong in Catholic teaching. CCBI partnered with many Catholic and other groups in sending a letter to the Prime Minister, federal Minister of Health and to provincial premiers and health ministers requesting provision of ethical vaccines, i.e., those not made from such sources. There are ethical vaccines being produced that do NOT use those sources, and we attached a chart listing both kinds to the letter, for their information. We are happy to report that two of the current front runners, Pfizer and Moderna, are ethically sourced vaccines. No vaccine is available for general use right now, and there are several hurdles to be cleared before the first ones will be shown to be safe for the whole population. Next week we will give a detailed explanation of the Church’s moral teaching on the use of vaccines, and this week we have attached the letter and chart sent to the PM and other government officials for your information.
The American Nurses Association’s website has links to a series of videos discussing mental health issues affecting nurses and other frontline workers. The information is practical and the six short videos are helpful for all people, but especially for carers whose needs are often neglected in looking after others. As the ANA asks, please sent the link to anyone you know who works in these areas: easily done and perhaps it will be of use.
In a preview I read of the Pope’s new book, Let Us Dream, he asks us: “How will we deal with the hidden pandemics of this world, this world, the pandemics of hunger and violence and climate change?” Later, he exclaims about the time we have during the COVID19 pandemic: “This is a moment to dream big, to rethink our priorities-what we value, what we want, what we seek-and to commit to act in our daily life on what we have dreamed of…Let us dare to dream. God asks us to dare to create something new. We cannot return to the false securities of the political and economic systems we had before the crisis. We need to slow down, take stock, and design better ways of living together on this earth.”
“God asks us to dare to create something new!” There’s a challenge for us as we endure the pandemic and also enter the reflective season of Advent!
Our Lady, Health of the Sick, pray for us!

We pray that the progress of robotics and artificial intelligence may always serve humankind!

(The Pope’s intention for the month of October)

Moira McQueen, LLB, MDiv, PhD
Executive Director, Canadian Catholic Bioethics Institute
Lecturer, Faculty of Theology
University of St. Michael’s College in the University of Toronto

Globe and Mail

Canada will get COVID-19 vaccines after other countries due to lack of manufacturing capacity, Trudeau says

Ontario’s COVID-19 response ‘disorganized and inconsistent,’ Auditor-General says

The Lozier Institute – Ethical assessment of COVID-19 vaccines

An Ethics Assessment of COVID-19 Vaccine Programs

Update: COVID-19 Vaccine Candidates and Abortion-Derived Cell Lines

American Nurses Association – Mental Health Support

Mental Health Support – American Nurses Association
We offer a free, complete 60-minute webinar, as well as six “Quick Videos” of key highlights. Registration is necessary to watch the complete webinar, or you may click on any of the Quick Videos below to watch them. In these videos, you will learn how to successfully manage your mental health needs while caring for COVID-19 patients, as well as the best and most up-to-date tools to stay …
www.nursingworld.org

Crux Catholic Media

Pope Francis – Let Us Dream

New book sketches Pope’s dream for a post-COVID world