Pope Francis likely to get vaccinated against COVID-19 next week

Pope Francis has said that the Vatican will initiate Covid-19 vaccinations from next week and that he is in line to receive a vaccine dose.

The pontiff made the comments during an interview with a channel in Italy set to air on Sunday night, reported CNN.

"It is an ethical duty to take the vaccine, here in the Vatican we will start next week, I am also in line to take it," he said, according to a news anchor for the channel in a preview of the interview, which was released Saturday.

In December, the Vatican deemed that it was morally acceptable to be vaccinated against Covid-19 after some anti-abortion groups raised concerns about how the vaccines were manufactured, CNN reported.

"It is morally acceptable to receive Covid-19 vaccines that have used cell lines from aborted fetuses in their research and production process," the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith said in a note approved by Francis.

Earlier, Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip, have received COVID-19 vaccinations, Buckingham Palace said on Saturday.

( With inputs from ANI )