VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – The Vatican clarified a decree on Thursday implying that workers could lose their jobs if they refuse to receive a COVID-19 vaccination without legitimate health reasons, following criticism on social media.
A Feb. 8 decree from Cardinal Giuseppe Bertello, the governor of the Vatican City, said getting a vaccine was “the responsible choice” because of the risk of harming other people.
The Vatican City, the world’s smallest state with 108 hectares, has several thousand employees, most of whom live in Italy. The vaccination program began last month and Pope Francis, 84, was one of the first to receive the vaccine.
The decree said those who cannot be vaccinated for health reasons can get another job, presumably where they would interact with fewer people, but will receive the same pay even if the new post is a demotion.
But the decree said that those who refuse to receive a vaccination without sufficient reason would be subject to a specific provision in a 2011 law on workers’ rights and obligations.
According to the article in the 2011 law, workers who refuse “preventive measures” may be subject to “varying degrees of consequences that may lead to dismissal”.
Following news stories about the decree on Thursday, many Italians took to Twitter to criticize it, with some saying it violated Pope Francis’s general call for mercy.
On Thursday evening, Bertello’s office released a statement saying “alternative solutions” would be found for those who do not want to receive the vaccine.
It said the reference to the article in the 2011 law specifically mentioning the possibility of dismissal should not be considered “sanctioning or punitive” and that the “freedom of individual choice” would be respected.
Pope Francis is a strong advocate of vaccines to stop the spread of the coronavirus, and the Vatican has mandated a COVID-19 vaccination for journalists accompanying the Pope on his trip to Iraq next month.
There are less than 30 cases of coronavirus in the Vatican City, most of them under the Swiss Guard, living in a communal barracks.
Reporting by Philip Pullella; Editing by Gareth Jones and Jonathan Oatis