Robert F. Kennedy Jr, the United States' top public health official, recently claimed some religious groups avoid the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine because it contains 'aborted fetus debris' and 'DNA particles'. Kennedy said 'aborted fetus debris' in MMR vaccines is the reason many religious people refuse vaccination. He referred specifically to the Mennonites in Texas, a deeply religious community, who have been among the hardest hit by the current measles outbreaks. Many vaccines work by using a small amount of an attenuated (weakened) form of a virus, or in the case of the MMR vaccine, attenuated forms of the viruses that cause measles, mumps and rubella. This gives the immune system a safe opportunity to learn how to recognise and respond to these viruses. Kennedy's claim about fetal debris specifically refers to the rubella component of the MMR vaccine. The rubella virus is generally grown in a human cell line known as WI-38, which was originally derived from lung...
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