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Pope Francis Confused by Covid Vaccine Hesitancy: 'It's Kind of Weird'
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September 15, 2021
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2:35Now PlayingPope Francis said Wednesday he didn’t understand why people refuse to take COVID-19 vaccines, saying “humanity has a history of friendship with vaccines” and that calm discussion about the shots was necessary to help those unsure about taking them.
“Even in the College of Cardinals, there are some deniers,” Francis said Wednesday en route home from Slovakia.
He noted that one of them, “poor guy,” had been hospitalized with the virus. That was an apparent reference to U.S. Cardinal Raymond Burke, who was hospitalized in the U.S. and placed on a ventilator last month after contracting the virus.
Francis was asked about vaccine skeptics and those who oppose vaccine mandates by a Slovakian reporter, following some events during his four-day pilgrimage to the country that were restricted to people who had gotten COVID-19 jabs.
The issue is broader, however, as more and more governments adopt vaccine mandates for certain categories of workers, sparking opposition.
“It’s a bit strange, because humanity has a history of friendship with vaccines,” Francis said, noting that children for decades have been vaccinated against measles, mumps and polio “and no one said anything.”
He hypothesized that the "uncertainty” was due to the diversity of COVID-19 vaccines, the quick approval time and the plethora of “arguments that created this division” and fear.
Medical experts say vaccines have been tested and used on billions of people and have been proven to be effective in reducing serious hospitalizations and deaths.
The Pope noted that the Vatican had vaccinated its residents, staff and their families “with the exception of a very small group.” The Vatican gave Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine shots to its residents, as well as to some homeless people and refugees.
He also joked about the surgery he underwent in July, saying others had told him they want to "undergo the same surgery" in order to feel rejuvenated.
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