Pope Francis and former Pope Benedict get first dose of Covid-19 vaccine
Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni stated in a press release that he was “able to confirm that within the vaccine program of the Vatican City State, to this date the first dose of Covid-19 vaccine has been administered to Pope Francis and Pope Emeritus.”
The assertion didn’t say when 84-year-old Pope Francis or his 93-year-old predecessor had been inoculated. Vatican City started its vaccine program on Wednesday in a medical middle set-up inside its important Auditorium Hall, the place the pontiff usually holds his weekly audiences. Both males are at increased danger of contracting the virus due to their age.
“I believe that ethically everyone should take the vaccine. It is not an option, it is an ethical choice because you are gambling with your health, with your life, but you are also gambling with the lives of others,” the pontiff stated in an interview with Italy’s Canale 5 channel broadcast on Sunday evening.
“I beg all those in charge of states, of companies, of international bodies … to promote cooperation and not competition and to seek a solution for everyone, vaccines for all, especially for the most vulnerable and needy in all regions of the globe,” the Pope stated throughout his conventional Urbi et Orbi (to the town and the world) message on the Vatican.
On Saturday, the Vatican’s newspaper L’Osservatore Romano introduced Francis’ private physician, Fabrizio Soccorsi, had died because of “complications due to Covid.”
Francis selected Soccorsi as his private physician in 2015, the information outlet stated.
Soccorsi, 78, was hospitalized in a Rome on December 26 for a earlier oncological illness, based on the Italian Bishop’s Conference newspaper Avvenire. It’s unclear precisely when he was final in direct contact with Pope Francis.