"An act of love": Pope Francis urges us all to get the COVID-19 vaccine [View all]

Pope Francis is the latest world leader to join in on the "It's Up to You" initiative, hoping to increase trust and the use of the COVID-19 vaccine.

The campaign was launched in February by the Ad Council and COVID Collaborative, and has featured four former presidents and first ladies — including Barack and Michelle Obama — as well as Bishop T.D. Jakes, Wanda Sykes, Darius Rucker, and Dr. Anthony Fauci.

On August 18, the Pope, 84, appeared in a video advocating for inoculation alongside six western hemisphere cardinals and archbishops.

With words spoken in Spanish, English, and Portuguese, the hope is that the message is received by communities disproportionately affected by the virus in those regions.

At: https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/pope-francis-urges-us-covid-164100318.html

Pope Francis and Catholic cardinals urge the public, in their native Spanish, to get vaccinated.

"Thanks to God’s grace and to the work of many, we now have vaccines to protect us from COVID-19," he said.

"Getting the vaccines that are authorized by the respective authorities is an act of love. I pray to God that each one of us can make his or her own small gesture of love."

While Latin America makes up one twelfth of the world's population, the region makes up nearly one third of the 4.4 million global Covid-19 deaths recorded thus far.