The COVID-19 vaccine was developed using a fetal cell line. So were Tylenol, ibuprofen...and ivermectin.

Exposing yet another anti-vaccine campaign of disinformation

Oh great COVID-19 vaccine whistleblower who gave us the secret documents that showed the shattering news that the vaccine accumulated in the ovaries (but really didn’t), we hardly knew ye. Gone in a flash to be replaced by, yes! Another whistleblower. 

So many whistleblower’s, so little time. Makes you wonder why the COVID-19 vaccine whistleblowers couldn’t just start a Facebook group and get their act together and come forward all at once?

Oh right, anti vaccine forces need whistleblower after whistleblower to drive the cycle of vaccine disinformation, move the anti vaccine goalposts, and gather page clicks.

The latest whistleblower gives us this shocking headline, which intimates that the COVID-19 vaccine is made with fetal cells.

And who did Melissa Strickler, the “Pfizer Whistleblower”, give her information to? The New York Times? The Washington Post? CNN? No. She gave this massive scoop to none other than Project Veritas.

Who are Project Veritas you ask? An extreme-right wing group that is known for producing deceptively edited videos and whose founder was arrested for entering federal property under false pretenses with the intent of committing a felony, and later plead guilty to the lesser charge of entering federal property under false pretenses. Their motto should be, “Facts are irrelevant”. They are not a legitimate source of any information. Like, you shouldn’t even learn how to tie a shoelace from Project Veritas.

On the Project Veritas website are several documents that appear to be internal Pfizer emails and they can best be summarized as follows: 

Some of the research that went in to developing the Pfizer vaccine involved a fetal cell line and the folks at Pfizer didn’t want to lead with that headline. 

I mean that’s it. This doesn’t mean fetal tissue was used in developing the vaccine or that the vaccine contains fetal tissues. Also, none of this is new. If Melissa Strickler was indeed fired as claimed, it wasn’t because she disclosed anything secret. I’m betting that giving emails from your superiors to Project Veritas is grounds for firing from Pfizer. I mean, she is literally trying to harm the company.

Let’s break down these claims. 

The Public Has Had Access to this Information for Almost a Year. 

Some research involved in developing the Pfizer vaccine used a fetal cell line. This is not news. Maybe the whistleblower and Project Veritas were too lazy to do a basic Google search? You can find what cell lines are used in which vaccine research here. Maybe they don’t know what cell lines are? Perhaps they don’t know what a whistleblower is actually supposed to do? It sounds as if they need a dictionary over at Project Veritas. 

Here is one of the emails on the Project Veritas website, supposedly written by Vanessa Gellman from Pfizer.

So the big “get” is Pfizer didn’t want to publicly emphasize the fact that fetal cells lines were used in a lab when they were researching the vaccine. They haven’t hidden it from the public, they just don’t want it to be a talking point because it is rife for purposeful misinterpretation, exactly as Project Veritas have just proven. This is because the general public doesn’t understand how common it is to use fetal cell lines in medical research, so if Pfizer all of a sudden started discussing how fetal cells lines were used in researching the vaccine it could sound sinister where it is simply common practice. I mean if Tylenol doesn’t have to lead with “Early research in the lab was done in fetal cells lines”, why should a vaccine manufacturer? 

Oh, and fetal cell lines are also used to develop many flavorings used in food. 

What Are Fetal Cell Lines?

During product development many substances, be it medications or flavorings, are tested in cells in a lab and some of this testing is done on cell lines, meaning a type of cell derived from one source. All the cells in a cell line are identical. This is important, because it means the researchers don't have to worry about minor differences between cells affecting the research. Think of a cell line like a plant cutting. A cutting is taken from the source and it can be grown, and then a cutting taken from that plant can be grown and so on. 

Some cell lines come from animal tissues, but a few come from fetal tissue and they have unique properties that make them very useful for specific kinds of research. Fetal cell lines in use today are decades old and we have vaccines against rubella and rabies because of research using fetal cell lines.

The Pfizer vaccine did use a fetal cell line during development, specifically HEK-293. This is not a secret, so to say this was discovered by a whistleblower is untrue and honestly would be a joke, except vaccine hesitancy is killing people. HEK-293 was made from kidney cells isolated from a fetus in 1973. It has never been disclosed if this was from a spontaneous miscarriage or an elective abortion.

While fetal cell lines were used in developing the science behind the vaccine, they are not used in the actual manufacturing of the Pfizer vaccine. There are no fetal cells in the Pfizer vaccine. For the record, fetal cell lines were also used in the development of the Moderna vaccine. 

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine uses the fetal cell line PER.C6, which was developed from retinal (eye) cells from an aborted fetus in 1985, to manufacture the vaccine. This doesn’t mean fetal cells are in the Johnson and Johnson vaccine, rather one component used to make this vaccine is grown in fetal cell line. 

The Catholic Church Says the Vaccines are Fine

Not that it should matter what any religion says, but the Catholic Church has a notorious anti-abortion position, so if they are okay with fetal cell lines then that says something. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said that getting the COVID-19 vaccine is “morally justified.” You can read their statement here. I particularly like this quote from the statement:

Receiving a COVID-19 vaccine ought to be understood as an act of charity toward the other members of our community. In this way, being vaccinated safely against COVID-19 should be considered an act of love of our neighbor and part of our moral responsibility for the common good.

The Vatican has a long statement on the COVID-19 vaccines, you can read it here. The most salient quote is “all vaccinations recognized as clinically safe and effective can be used in good conscience with the certain knowledge that the use of such vaccines does not constitute formal cooperation with the abortion from which the cells used in production of the vaccines derive.” 

Both Pope Francis and the Pope emeritus are vaccinated. You can read about that here. 

If You Think a Fetal Cell Line Created in the 1970s from a Single Abortion is Problematic, then My Friend You Need to Give Up Many Things. Like Ivermectin and Monoclonal Antibodies. 

Monoclonal antibodies to treat COVID-19 infection, which Trump received, were developed with the same HEK-293 cell line as the Pfizer vaccine. As was ivermectin. Why isn’t Project Veritas targeting these medications? Why didn’t they go after Trump?

Here is a list of some medications developed with fetal cells lines, but there are many more: 

• Acetaminophen

• Albuterol

• Ibuprofen

• Tylenol

• Pepto Bismol

• Tums

• Lidocaine

• Lipitor

• Senokot

• Motrin

• Metformin

• Maalox

• Ex-Lax

• Benadryl

• Sudafed,

• Preparation H

• Claritin

• Prilosec

• Zoloft

Why aren’t Project Veritas and the throngs of anti-vaccine warriors on Instagram and Facebook targeting these medications? Where is the Preparation H whistleblower? And what about all the food additives tested on the fetal cell line HEK-293? Why is no one picketing mouthwash?

Apparently, fetal cell line HEK-293 is excellent for determining if a flavor is sweet or not. You can read more about that here. So if you have an issue with fetal cells lines, in addition to giving up many medications, you are going to have to give up a lot of different foods that have added flavor. 

It’s Complex To Non Scientists, so It’s an Easy Lie

Most people don’t know about cell lines, so when false claims start to circulate they can sound real. 

So why didn’t Pfizer want to make their use of a known fetal cell line a major talking point? I think it’s pretty obvious given how this lie that is a non story is spreading like wildfire on Instagram.

And to anyone reading this who still has an issue with vaccines because of research using fetal cells, you better start preparing for a life that isn’t quite so convenient. To stay true to your morals you are going to have to grow your own food and figure out how to deal with your headaches, upset stomach, constipation, hemorrhoids and numerous other medical concerns without medical assistance, because many of the medications to help you were developed using fetal cells lines. Do you need stitches? I guess your conviction will have to be your anesthesia. No numbing medication for you! And if you turn down the vaccine and get COVID-19 and are sick enough to get admitted to the hospital, you will have to turn down many of the medications that may be needed to keep you alive as they exist courtesy of fetal cells lines.

There is no real whistleblower, just a bunch of people creating faux outrage for page clicks and chaos. It’s also possible none of them even have a vague grasp of the science.

There are no fetal cells in vaccines. Yes, a fetal cell line created in 1973 was used in some lab research that was part of developing the mRNA vaccines, but fetal cell lines were also used to develop ivermectin, monoclonal antibodies to treat COVID-19, and Tylenol, and lidocaine and so on.

So on to the next faux whistleblower who will make headlines for revealing some “hidden truth” about the COVID-19 vaccines that has been available on google dot com for the past eight months or more.