COVID-19 vaccinations

Despite more than 10 billion vaccine shots having been administered worldwide as of Valentine’s Day, not only is the number of deaths still rising, there are many regions of the world where people have not received any shots at all.

The head of Italy’s military ordinariate urged members of the military and police to ignore Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, former apostolic nuncio to the United States, who issued a statement calling on them to refuse to be vaccinated and to not enforce Italy’s COVID-19 policies.

These details were found in the report, “Religious Identities and the Race Against the Virus: American Attitudes on Vaccination Mandates and Religious Exemptions.” The Dec. 9 report is the third such PRRI-IFYC joint survey this year on vaccines.

The Colorado bishops said government “should not impose medical interventions on an individual or group of persons.”

Across the country, many U.S. colleges and universities are requiring students to be vaccinated, and some are requiring employees to also show proof of vaccination for the new school year.

USCCB’s Committee on International Justice and Peace praised President Joe Biden June 23 for his commitment to provide 500 million COVID-19 vaccines to lower-income countries.

The number of private colleges requiring COVID-19 vaccinations continues to grow, numbering about 75 on April 27 on a list updated by the Chronicle of Higher Education.

The Vatican COVID-19 Commission’s health task force has created a “resource kit” for church leaders and families on COVID-19 and vaccines.