COVID Vaccine Mandate & Exemption Consultations

General Notes about COVID-19 Vaccine Exemptions

·      The NCBC does not provide medical or legal advice

·      Neither NCBC nor the Catholic Church “grant” (approve) exemptions to vaccine mandates. The approval or denial of requests is a legal matter involving individuals and their employers or other mandating entities.

·      The NCBC does not sign exemption requests. It is our understanding that no signature other than the person’s own signature should be required in any case, even though many employers may be requesting a signature from a religious leader. Legal advice is strongly recommended on any questions about the process for filing an exemption request or the legal standards for approval or denial of exemptions, including questions about signatures from religious leaders.

·      The NCBC’s exemption template letter can be modified and personalized as appropriate to reflect the individual’s own sincerely held conscience judgment and reasoning. Permission from NCBC is not required to use and modify it.

NCBC Resources on COVID-19 Vaccines, Mandates, and Exemptions

Points to Consider on the Use of COVID-19 Vaccines

Statement on COVID-19 Mandates

Vaccine exemption template letter

Vaccine exemption resource for individuals

Legal Resources on Vaccine Exemptions
Note: These are links to external sites that contain information that may be helpful to those with questions about the process for filing exemption requests and other legal considerations, including questions about signatures from religious leaders. They do not imply NCBC's endorsement or agreement with all content.

Liberty Counsel

Thomas More Society

First Liberty

Church Resources on COVID-19 Vaccines

Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), Note on the Morality of Using Some Anti-COVID Vaccines (December 2020).

CDF, Instruction Dignitas personae (2008), nn. 34-35, pertaining to the use of biological material of illicit origin (e.g., abortion-derived cell lines)

USCCB Doctrine Committee’s Moral Considerations Regarding the New COVID-19 Vaccines 

USCCB Pro-Life Committee’s Answers to Key Ethical Questions About COVID-19 Vaccines 

Resources on the Use of Abortion-Derived Cell Lines (ADCLs) for Vaccines and Other Products

The National Catholic Bioethics Center does not research and maintain its own official up-to-date list of the abortion-derived cell lines and their connection with vaccines or any other medical product. The NCBC relies on other organizations, like the Charlotte Lozier Institute and the Children of God for Life, for this type of information. Here are links to resources the NCBC commonly uses and suggests for finding information on which cell lines were used in which products.

Charlotte Lozier Institute – COVID-19 Vaccines

Charlotte Lozier Institute – All Non-COVID-19 Vaccines

Children of God for Life – COVID-19 Vaccines

Children of God for Life – All Non-COVID-19 Vaccines

Children of God for Life – FAQ with Information on Monoclonal Antibodies, Other Medications, and ADCLs

Children of God for Life – Major Abortion-Derived Cell Line List with History and Uses

Medical and Legal Advice Disclaimer

The National Catholic Bioethics Center (NCBC) is a nonprofit research and educational institute committed to providing education, guidance, and resources to the Church and society to uphold the dignity of the human person in health care and biomedical research. The NCBC provides consultations to institutions and individuals seeking its guidance. Neither the NCBC's moral analyses nor any other project of the NCBC should be construed as an attempt to offer or render a legal or medical opinion or otherwise to engage in the practice of law, medicine, or other health care disciplines.

Scope of Service Disclaimer

NCBC offers this personal consultation service to answer questions about real situations involving ethical problems or dilemmas. Requests outside the scope of this service may not receive a reply. Some examples of requests outside the scope of personal consultation include:

• Research-oriented requests

• Questions about hypothetical situations

• Requests for help with academic papers

• Statements or descriptions of experiences without any ethical question