Ireland’s Catholic Bishops have welcomed the arrival of vaccines to combat the Covid-19 pandemic.

In a statement, they encouraged Catholics to get vaccinated, to protect both themselves, and those who are vulnerable.

They also urged people to advocate for ethically-developed vaccines.

They noted that many currently being developed do not depend for their design or production on foetal cell lines derived from abortions.

But if one of those is not available, they say it is permissible to accept a vaccine involving the use of foetal cell-lines, when the risk to life is significant, as in the present pandemic.