Vaccine Fetal Tissue, meet Ellie

Three vaccines, M-M-R-II (Merck 2016a), VARIVAX (Merck 2016b), and HAVRIX (Glaxo Smith Kline 2016) utilize cell lines WI-38 or MRC-5 that were derived from fetal tissues (Wong 2006) harvested from elective abortions in the 1960s to generate the attenuated viruses used in these immunizations for rubella (M-M-R-II), varicella (VARIVAX), or hepatitis A (HAVRIX). The efficacy of these vaccines has been clearly demonstrated.