Pope Francis said during his general audience on Wednesday that a coronavirus vaccine should be for everyone, particularly the poor.
“How sad it would be if access to a Covid-19 vaccine was made a priority for the richest. It would be sad if the vaccine became property of such and such nation and not universal for everyone,” the Pope said.
The pandemic “has uncovered the plight of the poor and the great inequality that reigns in the world,” the Pope said, adding that the response to the pandemic is therefore “twofold.”
“On the one hand, it is imperative to find the cure for a small but terrible virus, which is bringing the whole world to its knees. On the other hand, we must cure a great virus, that of social injustice, inequality of opportunity, marginalization and lack of protection for the weakest,” the pontiff said.
“We are all concerned about the social consequences of the pandemic … Many want to return to normal (life) and resume economic activities,” the Pope said, warning that “the pandemic is a crisis and from a crisis you don’t come out the same: you can come out better or worse.”
Charity and social assistance are important, the Pope stressed, “but we have to go further and find solutions for the problems that create the need of social assistance.” Today “we have the opportunity to build something different,” an economy that “doesn’t poison” society, he added.
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