Pope Francis calls opposition to COVID-19 vaccine “suicidal denial”

“Next week, we will start to do it here (in the Vatican) and I made an appointment, we must do it,” Pope Francis said.

Vatican City:  Pope Francis has called opposition to the coronavirus vaccine “suicidal denial” urging people to get the jab and saying he would get vaccinated himself next week.

“Next week, we will start to do it here (in the Vatican) and I made an appointment, we must do it,” he told Canale 5 in segments released on Saturday from an interview set to be broadcast the next day.

“There is a suicidal denial which I cannot explain, but today we have to get vaccinated,” the pontiff said.

Queen Elizabeth and the Pope

Pope Francis and Britain’s Queen Elizabeth on Saturday became the latest high-profile figures to join the global vaccination campaign against the coronavirus, as the UK reported it had surpassed more than 3 million cases since the pandemic began more than a year ago

Almost 1.9 million people worldwide have now died from the virus, with new variants adding to soaring cases and prompting the re-introduction of restrictions on movement across the globe — even as some countries begin mass inoculation campaigns.

Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip received their Covid-19 vaccinations on Saturday, Buckingham Palace said, in a rare public comment on the private health matters of the long-serving monarch.

FRANCE 24