Vatican (CU)_ Pope Francis said in a TV interview on Sunday that he will receive the coronavirus vaccine as early as next week, thus calling it a responsibility of every citizen. He said, “I believe that ethically everyone needs to receive the vaccine”. The exact timing of his inoculation was not mentioned by Francis, but the Pope said that the vaccination rollout for Vatican would start by next week and that he had reserved his booking in advance.
Pope Francis’ initiative conveys a remarkable pro-vaccine signal to 1.3 billion Catholics around the world. However, it also marks a critical step in shielding an 84-year-old who has lost part of a lung and does not want to wear a mask and loves face-to-face communication.
It was widely predicted by Vatican observers that the vaccine would be given to Francis, and for months he spoke positively about the international vaccine attempts and highlighted it as a ray of hope in this dark time. However, until now the Vatican had remained unclear on the Pope’s vaccine plans. It was announced by the Holy See that the campaign would give first preference to the elderly citizens, healthcare professionals and others most in direct touch with the public.
It was announced by the health director of the Vatican that the city-state will roll out the vaccine developed by Pfizer-BioNTech. In the interview, Francis suggested that his own outlook on vaccinations had been influenced by childhood memories of polio. He said, “so many children ended up paralyzed because of this and there was a desperation to receive the vaccine”.
Francis also spoke about some people’s misconception about vaccines. He said, “I don’t know why some will say, ‘No, the vaccine is dangerous.’ But if doctors offer it to you as something that can work, that poses no special risk, why not take it? There is a suicidal denialism that I wouldn’t know how to explain, but today you need to take the vaccine.” Earlier, he mentioned that the exploration for vaccines must be “transparent and selfless.” He has further advised the leaders to confirm that the poor, the sick and the elderly are provided with vaccines.
The medical experts advised that Francis and the church would still have to act carefully and would have to continue to wear masks even after being fully vaccinated with the two doses. However, some of the practices of the church that have been put on hold for nearly a year, such as international travel, can more easily be resumed by the pontiff. Hence, Francis’ plan to tour in Iraq in early March will be his first out-of-Italy venture since the pandemic began.
The vaccination to the Pope would mark the first instance of church vaccine acceptance. The doctrinal watchdog of the Vatican announced last month that it was “morally acceptable” for Catholics to receive vaccines that are made using cell lines derived from aborted fetuses. Previously, several US bishops had indicated that such vaccines were unethical. The Vatican announced, “From the ethical point of view, the morality of vaccination depends not only on the duty to protect one’s own health, but also on the duty to pursue the common good.”
