NIH Director Urges Evangelicals to ‘Examine Evidence’ on Vaccines

The director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) on Saturday urged unvaccinated evangelical Christians to “examine the evidence” on COVID-19 vaccines and obtain the vaccine.

CNN anchor Jim acostaJames (Jim) AcostaNIH Director Begs Evangelicals to ‘Examine Evidence’ on Vaccines NIH Director Francis Collins asked in an on-air interview about his message to evangelicals and other religious communities who cited their faith as a reason not to get the vaccine.

Collins has previously stated that he is an evangelical Christian. Acosta noted that the NIH director was repelled by his faith and “how that might factor into your role as a scientist” when he first took office.

“If you are a Christian, or if you are someone who has not yet been vaccinated, hit the reset button on any information you have that makes you doubt, hesitate or fear and review the evidence,” he said. Collins replied. “The evidence is overwhelming, vaccines are safe, they are effective, they can save your life. “

The NIH director’s comments come after he announced earlier this week that he would be stepping down after decades of service.

He told Acosta it was “really heartbreaking” that people were losing their lives to COVID-19 needlessly with vaccines available to Americans.

Some Christian communities have opposed the COVID-19 vaccine because fetal cell lines have been implicated in the testing or development of certain vaccines. According to the Associated Press, the cells used today are clones and not the original ones taken from fetal tissue.

Fetal cell lines are also not present in vaccines.

Reverend Robert Jeffress of First Baptist Dallas told The Associated Press in an email interview earlier this year that “there is no credible religious argument” against getting the COVID-19 vaccine. He claimed that if people wanted to oppose the COVID-19 vaccine, they should refrain from using other drugs that had also used fetal cell lines.

“Christians who are troubled by the use of a fetal cell line to test vaccines should also refrain from using Tylenol, Pepto Bismol, Ibuprofen and other products using the same cell line. ‘they are sincere in their objection,’ Jeffress, a supporter of the former President TrumpDonald Trump NIH Director Begs Evangelicals to “Examine Evidence” on Vaccines told the AP.