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First US Catholic Bishop Receives Pfizer-BioNTech Vaccine

GettyImages/Joe Raedle

Gabrielle Temaat Contributor
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The Archdiocese of Miami said Friday that Archbishop Thomas Wenski received the COVID-19 vaccine, making him the first US bishop to receive it, according to NBC Miami.

The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was given to 120 hospital workers and 82 patients at St. John’s Nursing Center in Lauderdale Lakes, where Wenski received it Wednesday. The archdiocese said that healthcare workers and patients in Catholic Health Service facilities will be some of the first recipients of the vaccine, NBC Miami reported. (RELATED: Here’s When Americans Can Expect To Receive Their Covid-19 Vaccine)

David Woosley, MD at the Jackson Health Systems, receives a Pfizer-BioNtech Covid-19 vaccine from Carol Biggs, CNO at Jackson Memorial Hospital on December 15, 2020 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

David Woosley, MD at the Jackson Health Systems, receives a Pfizer-BioNtech Covid-19 vaccine from Carol Biggs, CNO at Jackson Memorial Hospital on December 15, 2020 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

The archdiocese of Miami also released a statement saying, “Archbishop Wenski wants his example to show that there is confidence in the vaccine and that there are no ethical concerns”.

Similarly, the chairman of U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades stated, “In view of the gravity of the current pandemic and the lack of availability of alternative vaccines, the reasons to accept the new COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna are sufficiently serious to justify their use, despite their remote connection to morally compromised cell lines”. However, bishops found the AstraZeneca vaccine to be “more morally compromised” and concluded that this version of the vaccine should be avoided, as previously reported by the Daily Caller. (RELATED: Here’s Which COVID Vaccines Are Produced, Tested Using Aborted Baby Cells, According To A Pro-Life Institute)

Florida began distributing the vaccine to assisted living facilities and nursing homes Wednesday, according to NBC Miami.