Pope Francis said on Saturday that he will receive a COVID-19 vaccination and stated that it is everyone’s moral duty to get one.
“I believe that ethically everyone should take the vaccine,” the Pope told Italian TV station Canale 5. “It’s an ethical choice because you gamble with your health, with your life, but you also gamble with it. lives of others. “
The Vatican will launch its vaccination program next week and Francis has already made an appointment, the Washington Post reported, citing the televised interview.
At 84 and missing part of a lung, the Pope is considered high risk. He has followed guidelines for social distances, but has appeared in front of crowds without a face mask.
In the interview, which aired Sunday, Francis spoke positively about the vaccine – something he’s been doing for months.
“I don’t know why some will say, ‘No, the vaccine is dangerous,’” he said. ‘But if doctors offer it to you as something that can work, that doesn’t have any special risk, why not take it? There is one suicidal denial I wouldn’t be able to explain, but today you have to take the vaccine. “