VATICAN CITY – Both Pope Francis and ex Pope Benedict have received the first dose of a vaccine against the coronavirus, the Vatican said Thursday.
The 84-year-old Pope and the 93-year-old former Pope got their shots as part of a Vatican vaccination program that began Wednesday.
Both men are vulnerable to the virus because of their age.
Francis may be more at risk because part of one of his lungs was removed after an illness when he was a young man in his native Argentina.
Benedict is vulnerable and suffers from a number of aging conditions, such as arthritis.
There are less than 30 cases of coronavirus in the Vatican City, most of them under the Swiss Guard, living in communal barracks.
Pope Francis said over the weekend that everyone should get a shot. “It’s an ethical choice because you gamble with your health, with your life, but you also gamble with the lives of others,” he told Italian TV station Canale 5.