Speaking about the Covid-19 pandemic and a potential vaccine, Pope Francis said on Wednesday that the richest in the world should not be given priority over the poor.
“And what a scandal it would be if all the economic assistance we observe – most of it with public money – were to focus on rescuing those sectors that do not contribute to the uptake of the excluded, the promotion at the very least, the common good as well as the care of creation. “
—Pope Francis
“It would be sad if for the vaccine for Covid-19 priority would be given to the richest!” said the pope during his weekly general public. “It would be sad if this vaccine became the property of this nation as another, instead of universal and for everything.”
“And what a scandal it would be if all the economic assistance we observe – most of it with public money – were to focus on rescuing those sectors that do not contribute to the uptake of the excluded, the promotion of the least, the common good, as the care of creation, “he continued.
The pope’s remarks came as the reported positive cases from around the world of the virus hit the 22 million mark, with Americans accounting for 64% of global deaths due to Covid-19.
The response to the pandemic is twofold: we need to find a cure for this little thing that has brought the whole world to its knees and we need to cure a bigger virus, that of social injustice. #GeneralAudience
– Pope Francis (@Pontifex) August 19, 2020
Recognizing that the pandemic has exposed “the plight of the poor and the great inequality that reigns in the world,” the religious leader said world citizens should work to correct that injustice as the world recovers.
“On the one hand, it’s essential to find a cure for this small but terrible virus that has brought the whole world to its knees,” he said. “On the other hand, we also need to cure a bigger virus, that of social injustice, inequality of opportunity, marginalization, and the lack of protection for the weakest.”
Drug manufacturers developing Covid-19 vaccines have come under scrutiny for projected costs of their potential products and political debates continue over whether a vaccine should be made available to the public free of charge.
While one in five Americans could not prescribe the medication prescribed by their doctors, the CEO of Moderna became a billionaire last night after his company received $ 483 million from the Trump administration to develop a potential vaccine for coronavirus.
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– Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) 17 July 2020
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced on Tuesday that he had made an agreement with drugmaker AstraZeneca to deliver a potential Covid-19 vaccine to the entire population of the country, although details are not too bad.
But Pope Francis warned that the global response to the virus should not fall along ideological lines.
“This is not a political option; nor is it an ideological option, a party option … no,” he said. “The preference for the poor is at the heart of the gospel.”
On the life after Covid-19, Pope Francis declared that a new “normality” should include the transformation of systemic injustices, not just the status quo.
“We are all concerned about the social consequences of the pandemic,” he said. “A lot of people want to go back to normalcy and start economic activities again. Sure, but this ‘normality’ should not include social injustice and the degradation of the environment.”
“The pandemic is a crisis, and we are not coming out of a crisis the same as before,” the pope continued. “Either we get out of it better, or we get out of it less. We need to get out of it better, to combat social injustice and damage to the environment. Today we have the opportunity to build something else.”
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