NEWS IN BRIEF
ITALY
FRANCE
Getting a COVID-19 jab is an No jab, no fun says Macron French government’s decision to only allow the fully “act of love” says Pope Francis The vaccinated to enter restaurants, bars, trains and other The pontiff has urged people to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
The pope’s appeal appears in a video, which also features Catholic bishops from the United States and Central and South America. “Thanks to God and to the work of many, we now have vaccines to protect us from COVID-19,” the pope says in the video. “Vaccines bring hope to end the pandemic, but only if they are available to all and if we collaborate with one another.” Pope Francis says being inoculated with vaccines authorised by competent authorities was “an act of love”. “Vaccination is a simple but profound way of promoting the common good and caring for each other, especially the most vulnerable,” he said. The pope has previously spoken about the importance of vaccines, while emphasising that they must be distributed equally, especially to poor countries. Not all senior Catholic clergy, however, have been singing from the same hymn sheet. American cardinal Raymond Leo Burke has been an outspoken critic of vaccines and even of social distancing. Burke said that the coronavirus “has been used by certain forces, inimical to families and to the freedom of nations to advance their evil agenda”. Later, after a visit to Wisconsin, he tested positive for COVID-19, was admitted to hospital and was on a ventilator.
‘ Vaccination is a simple but profound way of promoting the common good and caring for each other, especially the most vulnerable.’ — Pope Francis
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spaces has led to a spike in inoculations.
The French have a well-deserved reputation for being vaccine-sceptic. A poll carried out last December found a remarkable 61 per cent of French citizens would not get vaccinated against COVID-19, compared with 30 per cent in America. In another poll in 2018, a third of respondents told the Wellcome Trust that they did not think vaccines were safe – more than in any other country out of 144 nations surveyed. On 12 July, faced with such hesitancy, France’s president Emmanuel Macron gave a serious incentive to encourage more people to get jabbed, reports The Economist. During a televised address watched by more than 22 million people, he said that from August, people who were not fully vaccinated would not be allowed into restaurants, bars, shopping centres, or travel on long-distance trains and flights. In the hours following his announcement, nearly one million people flocked to book vaccination appointments via Doctolib, the most popular online platform. More appointments were arranged via the website in the following 48 hours than had been over the previous 18 days. Three-fifths of the bookings were for people aged between 18 and 39 years. Macron also said that vaccination will be compulsory for all health workers, and enforced from September. Children aged 12 to 17 have been eligible for vaccination since 15 June.
‘ In the hours following President Macron’s announcement, nearly one million people flocked to book vaccination appointments.’
