Vatican City is set to launch COVID-19 vaccinations this month

Coronavirus vaccines are expected to arrive in Vatican City next week, according to the Vatican director of health and hygiene.

In a statement released on January 2, the head of the Vatican health service, Dr. Andrea Arcangeli, said the Vatican has purchased a low-temperature refrigerator to store the vaccine and plans to begin administering vaccinations in the second half of January. in the hall. of the Paul VI Hall.

"Priority will be given to health and public safety personnel, the elderly and personnel most frequently in contact with the public," he said.

The director of the Vatican health service added that the Vatican City State expects to receive sufficient vaccine doses in the second week of January to cover the needs of the Holy See and the Vatican City State.

The Vatican City State, the smallest independent nation-state in the world, has a population of only about 800 people, but together with the Holy See, the sovereign entity that precedes it, employed 4.618 people in 2019.

In an interview with Vatican News last month, Arcangeli said the Pfizer vaccine should be made available to Vatican City residents, employees and their family members over the age of 18 in early 2021.

"We believe it is very important that even in our small community a vaccination campaign against the virus responsible for COVID-19 is started as soon as possible," he said.

"In fact, only through capillary and capillary immunization of the population can real benefits in terms of public health be obtained to obtain control of the pandemic".

Since the onset of the coronavirus outbreak, a total of 27 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in Vatican City State. Among them, at least 11 members of the Swiss Guard tested positive for the coronavirus.

The Vatican communiqué did not say if or when Pope Francis could be given the vaccine, but said the vaccinations will be provided on a voluntary basis.

Pope Francis has repeatedly appealed to international leaders to grant the poor access to vaccines against the coronavirus that has claimed more than 1,8 million lives worldwide since January 2.

In his Christmas address “Urbi et Orbi”, Pope Francis said: “Today, in this time of darkness and uncertainty regarding the pandemic, various lights of hope appear, such as the discovery of vaccines. But for these lights to illuminate and bring hope to all, they must be available to all. We cannot allow the various forms of nationalism to close in on themselves to prevent us from living as the truly human family that we are “.

“Nor can we allow the virus of radical individualism to get the better of us and make us indifferent to the sufferings of other brothers and sisters. I cannot put myself in front of others, letting the law of the market and patents take precedence over the law of love and the health of humanity “.

“I ask everyone - heads of government, companies, international organizations - to encourage cooperation and not competition, and to seek a solution for everyone: vaccines for everyone, especially for the most vulnerable and needy in all regions of the planet. Before all the others: the most vulnerable and needy "