Pope campaign for vaccination; Nigeria records fresh 420 cases

Pope Francis yesterday rose vehemently in support of vaccination against coronavirus describing the act as a “moral obligation”.

The Catholic Pontiff denounced how people had been swayed by “baseless information” to refuse vaccination - one of the most effective measures to save lives.

In a speech to ambassadors accredited to the Holy See, the Pope used some of his strongest words yet calling people to get vaccinated. The annual event allows the Pontiff take stock of the world and set out the Vatican’s foreign policy goals for the year.

The 85-year-old Pope has generally shied away from speaking about vaccination as a “moral obligation”, though his COVID-19 advisory body has referred to it as a “moral responsibility”.

Rather, Francis has termed vaccination as “an act of love” and that refusing to get inoculated was “suicidal”.

But, he has now gone a step further in a formal speech, saying that individuals had a responsibility to care for themselves “and this translates into respect for the health of those around us”.

“Health care is a moral obligation", he asserted.

He lamented that increasing “ideological divides” were discouraging people from getting vaccinated.

“Frequently, people let themselves be influenced by the ideology of the moment, often bolstered by baseless information or poorly documented facts", he said.

“Vaccines are not a magical means of healing, yet surely they represent, in addition to other treatments that need to be developed, the most reasonable solution for the prevention of the disease", he added.

Some Catholics, including a number of conservative United States bishops and cardinals, have claimed vaccines based on research that used cells derived from aborted fetuses were immoral, and have refused to get the jab.

The Vatican’s doctrine office, however, has said it is “morally acceptable” for Catholics to receive COVID-19 vaccines based on research that used cells derived from aborted fetuses.

Francis and Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI have both been fully vaccinated with Pfizer-BioNTech shots.

Francis repeated his call for universal access to the shots, particularly in the parts of the world with low vaccination rates, and called for revisions to patent rules so that poorer countries can develop their own vaccines.

“It is appropriate that institutions such as the World Trade Organisation and the World Intellectual Property Organisation adapt their legal instruments lest monopolistic rules constitute further obstacles to production and to an organised and consistent access to healthcare on a global level", he said.

In Nigeria, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) reported 420 fresh cases of COVID-19 infections on Monday, making the nation's total to 248,732.

Of that number, 219,479 infected people had been discharged, while 3,085 deaths were recorded since February 2020 when Nigeria recorded its index case.

Lagos State again top the daily chart with 103 cases, followed by Kwara (90), Akwa Ibom (49), FCT (39), Kano (33), Rivers (31) and Cross River (17).

Others were Ogun (17), Kaduna (15), Edo (11), Niger (9), Oyo (5) and Abia (1).