COVID-19 Vaccine – Do any ingredients go against my faith or ethical beliefs?

There are no animal products or animal-derived cells in the vaccine. Those who avoid pork are right to ask questions, as pork-derived products are sometimes contained in the coating of medicines or medicinal gummy sweets and syrups. But the COVID-19 vaccine is not one of these.

So the vaccine is compatible with a halal diet, the Muslim Council of Britain and the British Islamic Medical Association has encouraged people to get vaccinated to protect themselves, and the Mosque and Imams National Advisory Board is running a campaign to support the take-up of vaccines.

Similarly, Jewish community leaders and rabbis have united in promoting the vaccine as safe for members of their faith and compatible with kosher tradition. Indeed, the vaccine has been endorsed by all major religious and faith groups, from Christian and Catholic leaders, to those following Hinduism.

The vaccine does not contain any dairy products, so it is entirely compatible with a vegan diet or lactose allergy or intolerance.

Those with egg allergies are right to ask specifically – a couple of other vaccines contain egg components, and there are sometimes available alternatives available. But no eggs or egg-derived products have been used to make the vaccine.

There is some misinformation online about possible foetal cells in the vaccine. It’s true to say that some lab techniques use cells from a foetus that was aborted in the 1970s, and this helps to test the vaccine, but this remains firmly in the lab. No foetal cells make it to the vaccine and into your body.

Horseshoe crabs – ever heard of them? Possibly not. But they have valuable blood that finds any toxic bacteria and protects the crab from getting infected. Scientists use this technique on every batch of the vaccine to check it’s not contaminated with nasty bacteria that could do you some serious damage. It’s a legal requirement and the technique’s been around since the 1970s. Rest assured, none of the crab’s components makes it into the vaccine.

It’s true to say that the vaccines have been tested on animals (mice and monkeys). This is key in developing any vaccines or medicines, to ensure they are safe before trying them out on humans. You may have strong views on the rights and wrongs of this, but it forms a legal requirement of each country’s regulatory approval. They won’t pass a vaccine as fit for purpose (or indeed allow human trials before this) unless it has been tested on animals. While the Animal Free Research UK group campaigns to change regulations to allow non-animal techniques to be accepted for vaccines and medicines instead, the Vegan Society has come forward to say that it supports the vaccine as it "encourages vegans to look after their health and that of others, in order to continue to be effective advocates for veganism and other animals".

There is nothing in the vaccine to conflict with a gluten-free diet, therefore those with allergies, such as coeliac disease sufferers, or those with an intolerance, are safe to go ahead.