ICAN wrote to Michigan’s Department of Health and Human Services to request, as required by law, a copy of the documents by which COVID-19 vaccine recipients are being provided information regarding the use of fetal tissue or cells in developing these vaccines.
A newly enacted Michigan law requires that: “A recipient of a COVID-19 vaccine … shall be provided with information or informed if and in what manner the development of the vaccine utilized aborted fetal tissue or human embryonic stem cell derivation lines.” ICAN sent a letter to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services on May 4, 2021 seeking a copy of the document(s) by which COVID-19 vaccine recipients are being provided this information.
The development of each of the three current COVID-19 vaccines currently in use involved aborted fetal tissue or human embryonic stem cell derivation lines:
- Johnson & Johnson/Janssen: Fetal cell cultures are used to produce and manufacture the J&J COVID-19 vaccine and the final formulation of this vaccine includes residual amounts of the fetal host cell proteins (≤0.15 mcg) and/or host cell DNA (≤3 ng).
- Pfizer/BioNTech: The HEK-293 abortion-related cell line was used in research related to the development of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.
- Moderna/NIAID: Aborted fetal cell lines were used in both the development and testing of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine.
