In a video message made on behalf of the nonprofit U.S. group the Ad Council and the public health coalition COVID Collaborative, Pope Francis has appeal urging people to get inoculated against COVID-19, saying the vaccines could bring an end to the pandemic.
“Thanks to God’s grace and to the work of many, we now have vaccines to protect us from COVID-19,” said the pope. “They grant us the hope of ending the pandemic, but only if they are available to all and if we work together.”
Vaccine-skeptic cardinal on ventilator
Cardinal Raymond Burke who expressed Covid-19 vaccine-skeptic views is currently on a ventilator with the virus in Wisconsin, according to his social media. The later had been tested positive for Covid last week while on a visit to his home state from Rome.
The 73-year-old’s condition has since worsened, leading him to be placed on a ventilator in a hospital. It is reported that Cardinal Burke has been seen frequently not wearing a mask. It is not known whether he is vaccinated against Covid-19 but has made public statements outlining anti-vaccine sentiment.
In May 2020, he said, “vaccination itself cannot be imposed, in a totalitarian manner, on citizens.”
During the same virtual address, Cardinal Burke went on to echo conspiracy theories, saying the vaccine injected “a kind of microchip” that permits people to “be controlled by the State regarding health and about other matters which we can only imagine.”
