The Vatican made it clear that it takes Pope Francis’s provaccination against the coronavirus very seriously, noting that any employee who refuses to receive it without valid medical reason runs the risk of being fired.
A decree signed on February 8 by the Governor of the Vatican City State sparked heated discussions on Thursday, as its clauses go well beyond the generally voluntary nature of vaccination against COVID-19 in Italy and much of the world, the rest of the world.
The decree underscored the need to protect Vatican employees in the workplace, as well as the guidelines issued by Pope Francis ‘Committee of Advisers on COVID-19, which has determined that there is a moral responsibility to inoculate’ as refusing to take a vaccine is a risk to others ”.
The decree warns that workers in the Vatican who choose not to be vaccinated without providing medical reasons are at risk of sanctions, including “termination of the employment relationship”. The Vatican is an absolute monarchy in the heart of Rome that operates independently of Italian law and Italian labor protection.
The Vatican, which employs approximately 5,000, is on track to become arguably the first country to complete its adult vaccination campaign, after the Holy See’s health department began inoculating staff and their families with Pfizer vaccines in early January. Pope Francis himself has already received the second dose.