Pope Francis stresses on coronavirus vaccines for all in Christmas message

Name: Poor countries said to be left behind in Covid-19 vaccine race as rich nations get first doses
Uploaded: 2020-12-25T13:30:55.000Z
Duration: 3 min 58 s
Description: Poor countries said to be left behind in Covid-19 vaccine race as rich nations get first doses

Pontiff says walls of nationalism could not be built to stop a pandemic that knows no borders

Francis delivered his traditional message virtually from a lectern inside the Vatican due to virus restrictions

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Pope Francis delivers his Christmas message in Vatican. Photo: Vatican Media/EPA-EFE

Reuters

Published: 9:30pm, 25 Dec 2020Updated: 9:30pm, 25 Dec 2020

Pope Francis called in his Christmas message on Friday for nations to share Covid-19 vaccines, saying walls of nationalism could not be built to stop a pandemic that knows no borders.

In a sign of the times, Francis delivered his traditional “Urbi et Orbi” (to the city and the world) message virtually from a lectern inside the Vatican instead of from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica before tens of thousands.

The pandemic and its social and economic effects dominated the message, in which Francis called for global unity and help for nations suffering from conflicts and humanitarian crises.

“At this moment in history, marked by the ecological crisis and grave economic and social imbalances only worsened by the coronavirus pandemic, it is all the more important for us to acknowledge one another as brothers and sisters,” he said.

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Poor countries said to be left behind in Covid-19 vaccine race as rich nations get first doses

Stressing that health is an international issue, he appeared to criticise so-called “vaccine nationalism”, which UN officials fear will worsen the pandemic if poor nations receive the vaccine last.