POPE FRANCIS, EX-POPE BENEDICT BOTH GET COVID-19 VACCINE

Thu 14 January 2021:

Both Pope Francis and ex-Pope Benedict have received the first dose of a vaccine against coronavirus, the Vatican said on Thursday.

The 84-year-old pope and the 93-year-old former pope got their jabs as part of a Vatican vaccination program that began on Wednesday.

Both men are vulnerable to contracting the virus because of their age. Francis is perhaps more at risk because part of one of his lungs was removed following an illness when he was a young man in his native Argentina.

“I can confirm that as part of the vaccination program of the Vatican City State, as of today, the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine has been administered to Pope Francis and to the Pope Emeritus,” Matteo Bruni, director of the Holy See Press Office, told journalists, according to Vatican News website. The vaccination campaign in Vatican started on Wednesday.

Speaking to Italian TG5 TV channel on Sunday, Pope Francis said getting vaccinated is an “ethical action” because you are not only gambling with your health and life but also you are with others.