Explainer: What you should know about the COVID-19 RNA vaccines

On Nov. 9, pharmaceutical manufacturer Pfizer and the biotechnology company BioNTech announced that their vaccine candidate was found to be more than 90% effective in preventing COVID-19. “With today’s news,” said Dr. Albert Bourla, Pfizer Chairman and CEO, “we are a significant step closer to providing people around the world with a much-needed breakthrough to help bring an end to this global health crisis.” A week later, biotech company Moderna Inc. said that its own experimental vaccine was 94.5% effective in preventing disease in a clinical trial.

Here’s what you should know about vaccines and these RNA vaccine candidates.

What are vaccines, vaccinations, and immunizations?

According to the Centers for Disease Control, a vaccine is created from the same germs that cause disease, using extremely small amounts of weak or dead microbes such as viruses, bacteria, or toxins. A vaccine stimulates your immune system to produce antibodies, exactly as it would if you were exposed to the disease. After getting vaccinated, you develop immunity to that disease, without having to get the disease first.

This Week at the ERLC

The Religious Freedom Institute (RFI) will be honoring Russell Moore as this year’s recipient of RFI's Defender of Religious Freedom Award. Moore will officially receive the award during a virtual ceremony that will premiere Nov. 21 at 7pm EST.

Russell Moore spoke at a National Immigration Forum event called Leading the way. Also, the Baptist Convention of Iowa posted their interview with Moore from last week.

Alex Ward has an article in Christianity Today about religious freedom.

Julie Masson has an article at For The Church about the theater of social media.

What You Need to Read

The bigger challenge, though, for a life of courage is not such situations, but the more typical one, in which we know, deep in our consciences, what the right thing to do is, but we lack the bravery to do it. Sometimes—as we have seen before— that timidity comes from a fear of someone else’s power or of losing our place in the community, but often it is not just these things but also the sense that the way of injustice is seemingly permanent.

Every one of us was born into a family. It’s true whether we’re single or married, and if we’re longing for children or if each chair around the table is full. If you have a pulse, you are someone’s son or daughter. This fact alone makes it necessary for each one of us to be able to navigate the various ethical issues that confront family life.

The good news is that our team’s studies show that taking small steps to practically help others amidst a crisis like COVID-19 can make a big difference. Time and time again our research demonstrates that one way churches help others during difficult times is through spiritual and social support. Moreover, spiritual support and social support helps people find meaning, hope, and comfort in times of crisis.

News From Capitol Hill

As we near the end of the year, our nation's leaders are, yet again, faced with another government funding deadline. Within these legislative debates, of the most importance to the ERLC are policies to protect pro-life riders in government appropriations.

These issues of top priority include the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits tax dollars from being spent on abortion, and conscience protection policies for healthcare professionals to withstand attempts to curtail religious freedom.

As Travis Wussow commented on an episode of Capitol Conversations this summer, “Our appropriations advocacy is some of the most inside baseball work we do, but it really matters because the appropriations bill is one of the most significant bills that gets passed each year.”

These issues of deep conviction matter to millions of Americans. The abortion lobby pushes for their agenda within the details of policy, but so does the pro-life community, protecting life by professionally countering their arguments throughout the annual appropriations process. This work happens every year with a broad coalition of pro-life advocates and organizations.

For more, check out this explainer from the ERLC policy staff that works through our opposition to policies our coalition deems “poison pills” in the fiscal year 2021 appropriations because they would deny critical human dignity and religious freedom protections.

Featured Podcasts

On the WeeklyTech podcast, Dr. Daniel Strand, assistant professor of Ethics at USAF Air War College and contributing editor at Providence Magazine, joins Jason Thacker to talk about AI, ethics, and warfare. They discuss just war tradition, autonomous weapons, and what these things mean for us today. Listen here.

On the Capitol Conversations podcast, Jeff Pickering and Chelsea Patterson Sobolik welcome back ERLC president, Russell Moore, to the podcast to talk about his new book, The Courage To Stand, and what we can learn about truth and tribalism from the 2020 presidential election. Listen here.

From The Public Square

In 2018, Government Restrictions on Religion Reach Highest Level Globally in More Than a Decade
Pew Research Center

In 2018, government restrictions on religion – that is, laws, policies and actions by officials that impinge on religious beliefs and practices – continued to climb, reaching an all-time high since Pew Research Center began tracking these trends in 2007.

About 90K sex abuse claims filed in Boy Scouts bankruptcy
David Crary, Associated Press

Close to 90,000 sex abuse claims have been filed against the Boy Scouts of America as the deadline arrived for submitting claims in the organization's bankruptcy case.

Judge awards $10 million to family in 'wrongful life' case
Associated Press

A federal judge in Seattle has awarded $10 million to the family of a severely disabled child who was born after a community clinic nurse inadvertently gave the mother a flu shot instead of a birth-control injection.

Fixing the Foster Care System
Naomi Schaefer Riley, Institute for Family Studies

The truth is that there is a shortage of good foster homes, public and private caseworkers are overworked and undertrained, and many foster parents are viewed as glorified babysitters.