The Vatican will sanction employees who refuse to get a Covid-19 vaccine unless they have “proven health reasons” not to, according to a new Vatican decree.
A variety of sanctions for anyone violating measures intended to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus were included in a decree signed Feb. 8 and later posted on the Vatican website by the head of the commission governing Vatican City State. While the protocols apply to everyone at the Vatican, the harshest sanctions are reserved for Vatican employees whose contractual obligations include on-the-job health and safety regulations. Because of the current state of emergency, getting the Covid-19 vaccine is part of a series of mandatory health and safety requirements for all employees, unless they have “proven health reasons” to not be inoculated; in legitimate cases, those employees will be given a different job that reduces their risk of spreading or contracting the virus, the decree said. They will receive the same pay. For employees who lack a proven medical reason for forgoing the vaccine, a refusal to be inoculated during the current health emergency exposes them to the same range of potential sanctions that come with refusing any of the other mandatory health exams and safety measures that are part of their terms of employment. The harshest sanction is a termination of employment.
The decree was signed by the head of the commission governing Vatican City State, Cardinal Giuseppe Bertello, who tested positive for COVID-19 in December, and Bishop Fernando Vergez Alzaga, secretary-general of the office. The Vatican has had at least 30 reported cases of Covid-19 since March 2020 and no reported deaths. The Vatican City State’s “public health emergency” decree said receiving the vaccine is part of making a “responsible decision” that recognizes that refusing the vaccine “may also constitute a risk to others” and can lead to a serious increase in risks to public health, quoting a December 2020 joint document by the Vatican COVID-19 commission and the Pontifical Academy for Life. The current health crisis means “there is an urgent need to issue the following rules that have the force of law,” and those rules went into effect starting Feb. 8, it said.
A public health emergency must be addressed in ways that “guarantee the health and well-being of the working community in the respect of the dignity, rights and freedoms” of everyone, it said.
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Harrison Okafor
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Judith is a believer, a lover of Christ and a Gospel freak person. A passionate gospel blogger and press writer. I work with GospelHitsNaija.net Media, no 1 Gospel music platform.
