VATICAN CITY: The poor and weakest members of society should get preferential treatment when a vaccine for the coronavirus is ready, Pope Francis told the United Nations on Friday.
Speaking from the Vatican in a video address to the U.N. General Assembly, Francis said the worldwide pandemic had highlighted the urgent need to promote public health and ensure access to vaccines.
“If anyone should be given preference, let it be the poorest, the most vulnerable, those who so often experience discrimination because they have neither power nor economic resources,” he said.
Francis has said rich countries should not hoard a coronavirus vaccine and the World Health Organization has warned against “vaccine nationalism”, urging countries to join a global pact to share vaccine hopefuls with developing countries.
More than…