Both Pope Francis and his predecessor, former pope Benedict XVI, have received the coronavirus vaccine, the Vatican said on Thursday.
"I can confirm that, as part of the Vatican City State vaccination programme to date, the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine has been administered to Pope Francis and the Pope Emeritus," spokesman Matteo Bruni said.
It had already been reported that Francis, 84, had received the jab on Wednesday, the first day of the Vatican's vaccination drive, but officials declined to confirm the news.
The Vatican News portal said Benedict, 93, was given a dose on Thursday morning.
The World Health Organization's emergency committee will meet two weeks early on Thursday to discuss the new coronavirus variants from South Africa and Britain that have rapidly spread to at least 50 countries and sparked widespread alarm.https://t.co/HWSXk9llok
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The former pontiff, who stepped down in 2013 and now lives in a converted monastery in the Vatican gardens, is increasingly frail.
In an interview broadcast at the weekend, Francis urged people to get the vaccine.
"There is a suicidal denial which I cannot explain, but today we have to get vaccinated," he told Canale 5.
The African Vaccine Acquisition Task Team – established by AU chairperson Cyril Ramaphosa – has secured a provisional 270 million vaccine doses for African countries. | @ntwaagae https://t.co/UkGmgPKTiC
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The Argentine is known for his love of being among his flock and has often been pictured without a mask.
But he has limited his interaction with the public since the virus first swept Italy early last year.