VATICAN CITY – Both Pope Francis and former Pope Benedict received the first dose of a coronavirus vaccine, the Vatican said Thursday.
The 84-year-old pope and the 93-year-old former pope received their strokes as part of a Vatican vaccination program that began Wednesday.
Both men are vulnerable to contracting the virus because of their age.
Francis is perhaps more at risk because part of one of his lungs was removed after an illness when he was young in his native Argentina.
Benet is fragile and suffers from various diseases related to old age, such as arthritis.
There have been fewer than 30 cases of coronavirus in the Vatican City, most among the Swiss guard, who live in a communal barracks.
Pope Francis said over the weekend that everyone should be punched. “It’s an ethical choice because you play with your health, with your life, but you also play with the lives of others,” he told Italian television channel Canale 5.