Mixed views and opinions, including questions, calm, curiosity and concern, surround the COVID-19 vaccine. It arrived quickly, so how can it be safe? Is it halachically permissible? How are fertility and sterility affected? On January 5, PUAH (Jewish institute for fertility, medicine and halacha) hosted a webinar to address these issues.
The event was moderated by PUAH Rabbinic Director Rabbi Elan Seligman, and led by Rabbi Dr. Aaron Glatt and Dr. Eve Feinberg, experts in Halacha, medicine and reproductive medicine, respectively.
“The vaccine is the greatest gift that God could have given us,” Glatt said, “and it will save millions of lives.” From halachic and medical standpoints, there isn’t anything “groundbreaking” or new to the science related to the COVID vaccine, he noted. Feinberg added that part of the technology has already been used in oncology for over a decade.
When a person is vaccinated with the COVID vaccine, Feinberg explained, an mRNA message is received and sent to the cells in the body. The body develops its own spike protein (the method that this coronavirus uses to enter the body), and “the body’s own immune system then generates antibodies to neutralize the spike protein and prevent that protein from infecting other cells, and the mRNA disappears.”
There is particular concern when it comes to pregnant women because this population has a “propensity to developing an infection” from certain vaccines, said Feinberg. However, based on the researched evidence, both Feinberg and Glatt conclusively agreed that it is medically impossible to be infected with COVID from this vaccine. Not only does the vaccine contain dead virus (as opposed to live), posing less of a risk, “there is no biological plausibility that encourages a woman to wait until a certain trimester in pregnancy,” Feinberg pointed out.
The mRNA never crosses the placenta and therefore does not reach the fetus, and the mother would now have antibodies to help fight off COVID, they noted. Glatt added that vaccination is beneficial for a lactating mother in that antibodies generated from the vaccine are passed on to the nursing baby. The mother protects both herself and the baby, so it’s a “win-win.”
For women trying to conceive or undergoing fertility treatments, Feinberg and Glatt definitively said that there is no risk of interference. “Even if it is the day of somebody’s embryo transfer,” said Feinberg, “we say to go right ahead.”
The Shulchan Aruch commands us to take care of our health, stressed Glatt. Considering lo taamod al dam re-acha (don’t stand idly over the blood of your fellow) and pikuach nefashot (obligation to save lives), one must follow expert medical opinions. This includes CDC’s Infectious Disease National Centers and the ASRM COVID-19 Task Force, of which Feinberg is a member. “These expert professionals are capable of providing opinions to rabbis, which people must follow if they want to follow Jewish law,” Glatt asserted, “and this means to take the vaccine.”
While attempting to maintain basic safety precautions such as masking, washing hands and social distancing, for over 10 months of living through this pandemic, we have all experienced varying degrees of stringency. There are those at higher risk and others less prone to being infected. However, just because one is not at high risk, Glatt reminded us, doesn’t mean that one is invincible.
Furthermore, one can infect older people, for example, where the COVID mortality rate for healthy people in their 70s to 80s is high. “Don’t you love your grandparents or your friends’ grandparents?” Glatt asked. Overcrowded ICUs need to be freed up as well, so that patients can receive necessary care. “Not only are you being asked to take a very safe vaccine, but it’s a mitzvah of gemilut chasadim, by helping others stay healthy, and keeping yourself healthy as well; you can’t get any better than that!”
Leading Torah scholars, including Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, have either strongly recommended or required us to take this vaccine, Glatt assured, and warned of the importance of discerning between easily accessible true and false information. “It’s an imperative that medical professionals publicly tell everyone how important and lifesaving this vaccine is,” Glatt emphasized.
“The key to getting COVID controlled, getting our lives back to normal, and being able to celebrate mitzvot and families will be with universal vaccination,” Feinberg stressed.
Rabbi Seligman concluded that we should be empowered to take the vaccine and make the right choice. “It’s not just the most appropriate medical decision,” he emphasized, “but also the most appropriate halachic decision.”
For further questions, PUAH can be confidentially reached at (718) 336-0603, or [email protected].
