Pope Francis and Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI receive their first doses of the Covid-19 vaccine at the Vatican.
By Vatican News
The vaccination campaign against Covid-19 in the Vatican, which started on Wednesday, continues with Pope Francis and Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI receiving their first doses of the vaccine.
“I can confirm that as part of the Vatican City State vaccination program, starting today, the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine was administered to Pope Francis and Pope Emeritus,” said Matteo Bruni, director of the Press Office of the Holy See in response to questions from journalists.
Pope Francis announced during an interview with Italian television station Tg5 on Sunday that he planned to receive the vaccine this week.
The Pope referred to vaccination as “an ethical action, because you are playing with your health, you are playing with your life, but you are also playing with the lives of others”.
Pope Benedict XVI’s private secretary, Bishop Georg Gaenswein, also confirmed that Pope Emeritus would be vaccinated.