Pomegranate – Both Pope Francis and Pope Benedict XVI, retired, took their first doses of a coronavirus vaccine, the Vatican confirmed on Thursday. The pontiff and his predecessor received the first half of their vaccines as part of a campaign for Vatican City residents and officials launched on Wednesday.
Pope Francis is 84 years old and Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, 93, so only their age puts them at high risk for complications with the virus. In addition, at age 21, Francis had part of a lung removed due to a recurrent lung infection. He spent months in a hospital, unsure whether he would live or die.
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“I have an idea of how people with coronavirus feel as they struggle to breathe in the ventilators,” he recently wrote, recalling his health crisis for more than half a century.
Francis has been a staunch supporter of the COVID-19 vaccination, even considering refusing inoculation ethically unacceptable.
“You are playing with your health, with your life, but you are also playing with the lives of others,” he said in a recent interview with Italian broadcaster Canale 5. He said “antivaxxers” lived in inexplicable “suicidal denial.”
The Vatican doctrinal office in December said it was “morally acceptable” for Catholics to receive a coronavirus vaccine, even if it was developed using cell lines of aborted fetuses.
The United States Catholic Bishops’ Conference, however, said that while the three main vaccines – from Pfizer, Moderna and Oxford / AstraZeneca – had a “very remote” connection to stem cells from aborted fetuses, the AstraZeneca vaccine was ” more morally committed, “and therefore” should be avoided if alternatives are available. ”
Pope Francis and Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI are believed to have received the vaccine from Pfizer. In December, the head of the Vatican’s health service said the tiny city-state would launch its Pfizer medication vaccination program.
Francis has been a strong defend a fair and equitable distribution COVID-19 vaccines worldwide, especially for those most in need.
The Vatican’s vaccination program includes Vatican City residents, employees and their families.
Vatican City has had less than 30 cases of COVID-19, including some in the same hotel residence where Pope Francis lives. Most cases, however, occurred among members of the Swiss Guard, who live in community barracks.