Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

VATICAN

Covid-19: Vatican staff who refuse vaccination could be fired

Vatican staff who refuse to be vaccinated against Covid-19 could be sacked under a decree made public Thursday by the city state, which employs around 5,000 people.

Published: 18 February 2021 17:06 CET
Covid-19: Vatican staff who refuse vaccination could be fired
A priest wearing a face mask walks across St. Peter's Square. Photo: Filippo Monteforte/AFP
An employee must have a documented medical reason for refusing a jab or face “consequences of various degrees which may go as far as the termination
of employment”, according to the text.
 
 
The document, which cites a 2011 Vatican law, also concerns job applicants, saying the Holy See may not hire them if they refuse to be vaccinated.
 
“Refusing vaccination could also be a risk for others (and) seriously increase risks to public health,” it says.
 
The same document also details fines of between 25 and 50 euros ($30-60) for failing to wear a mask or to observe social distancing, and up to 1,500
euros for breaking quarantine rules.
 
The Vatican began vaccinating its employees for free last month. Its campaign is separate from that in Italy, where the jab is not mandatory.
 
Pope Francis, 84, and his 93-year-old predecessor pope Benedict XVI have both received the jab.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

HEALTH

Covid-19 still causing 1,000 deaths a week in Europe, WHO warns

The World Health Organization's European office warned on Tuesday the risk of Covid-19 has not gone away, saying it was still responsible for nearly 1,000 deaths a week in the region. And the real figure may be much higher.

Published: 27 June 2023 13:27 CEST
Covid-19 still causing 1,000 deaths a week in Europe, WHO warns

The global health body on May 5 announced that the Covid-19 pandemic was no longer deemed a “global health emergency.”

“Whilst it may not be a global public health emergency, however, Covid-19 has not gone away,” WHO Regional Director for Europe Hans Kluge told reporters.

The WHO’s European region comprises 53 countries, including several in central Asia.

“Close to 1,000 new Covid-19 deaths continue to occur across the region every week, and this is an underestimate due to a drop in countries regularly reporting Covid-19 deaths to WHO,” Kluge added, and urged authorities to ensure vaccination coverage of at least 70 percent for vulnerable groups.

Kluge also said estimates showed that one in 30, or some 36 million people, in the region had experienced so called “long Covid” in the last three years, which “remains a complex condition we still know very little about.”

“Unless we develop comprehensive diagnostics and treatment for long Covid, we will never truly recover from the pandemic,” Kluge said, encouraging more research in the area which he called an under-recognised condition.

Most countries in Europe have dropped all Covid safety restrictions but some face mask rules remain in place in certain countries in places like hospitals.

Although Spain announced this week that face masks will no longer be required in certain healthcare settings, including hospitals and pharmacies, with a couple of exceptions.

Sweden will from July 1st remove some of its remaining Covid recommendations for the public, including advice to stay home and avoid close contact with others if you’re ill or have Covid symptoms.

The health body also urged vigilance in the face of a resurgence of mpox, having recorded 22 new cases across the region in May, and the health impact of heat waves.

SHOW COMMENTS