Pope calls for 'reality therapy' for Covid vaccine opponents

Pope Francis on Monday urged the international community to step up Covid vaccination and said "reality therapy" was needed to battle "baseless information" putting people off getting jabbed.

The Argentine pontiff, who has previously described getting vaccinated as "an act of love," urged governments to ensure everyone around the world had access to vaccines.

"Frequently people let themselves be influenced by the ideology of the moment, often bolstered by baseless information or poorly documented facts," he told members of the Vatican's diplomatic corps.

"The pandemic, on the other hand, urges us to adopt a sort of 'reality therapy' that makes us confront the problem head on and adopt suitable remedies to resolve it," the 85-year old said.

While vaccines were "not a magical means of healing" they were "surely... the most reasonable solution for the prevention of the disease," Francis said.

But he pointed out the plan for everyone in the world to have equal access to vaccines currently remained "an illusion."

– AFP