VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Pope Francis said on Saturday that he intends to be vaccinated against COVID-19 as early as next week and urged everyone to be shot to protect not only their lives but the lives of others.
“I think from an ethical point of view everyone should get the vaccine,” the pope said in an interview with TV Channel 5. “It’s an ethical choice because you play with your health, your life, but you also play with the lives of others. “
The Vatican, the world’s smallest independent county, which houses about 450 people, including Pope Francis, said it would soon launch its own coronavirus vaccination campaign.
“Next week,” the pope said, “we will start doing it here at the Vatican, and I have made a reservation. We have to do that. “
Pope Francis, 84, had part of his lung removed during an illness when he was young in his native Argentina, making him potentially vulnerable to the disease.
Last week, the Vatican said it expects to receive enough doses of COVID-19 vaccine in the coming days to inoculate all its residents and workers living beyond its walls in Rome.
As part of its vaccination plan, the Vatican said it has bought an ultra-cold refrigerator to store doses, suggesting it will use the vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, which should be kept at about minus 70 degrees Celsius (minus 94 Fahrenheit). .
As excerpts of the interview were released, the official Vatican News website reported that the pope’s personal physician, Fabrizio Soccorsi, had died of complications from COVID-19.
Soccorsi, 78, was in hospital and was being treated for cancer. He has been the pope’s doctor since 2015.
Reporting by Crispian Balmer; Written by Giulio Piovaccari; Editing by Peter Graff and Chizu Nomiyama