Pope Francis’ personal doctor succumbs to Covid19 complications
- Fabrizio Soccorsi fell ill on Boxing day of 2020 and had been receiving treatment at the Gemelli Hospital in Rome.
- The late, who was the Pope's personal medic since August 2015, died aged 78
- His death came in the wake of the Pope's announcement that he had plans to receive his COVID-19 vaccination next week
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Pope Francis’ personal doctor, Fabrizio Soccorsi, has succumbed to Covid-19 complications.
A report by the Catholic News Agency indicates that from December 26, 2020, the 78-year-old had been at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital while suffering oncological pathology.
The late was the Pope's personal medic since August 2015.
Source: Twitter
Soccorsi was a graduate of medicine and surgery from the La Sapienza University in University.
He had an illustrious career that spanned from medical practice all the way to teaching, with a bias in hepatology, immunology and the human digestive system.
That Soccorsi was the Pope's physician means that he accompanied him on local and international trips, but it was not clear when he last had direct contact with the Pope.
Source: UGC
His death came in the wake of the Pope's announcement that he had plans to receive his COVID-19 vaccination next week in line with Vatican's vaccination programme.
Speaking to Canale 5 TV, the Pope reiterated that he strongly believed that it was ethical for everyone to receive the vaccination.
“It is an ethical choice because you are gambling with your health, with your life, but you are also gambling with the lives of others,” he said.
In other news, Dr Zweli Mkhize is being dragged to court by lobby group AfriForum and Solidarity over the decision to centralise the procurement of Covid-19 vaccines from global pharmaceutical companies. The groups have expressed their mistrust of the South African government. They would prefer to source vaccines as private entities
Earlier this month, Mkhize announced that government was in discussion with a few manufacturers of Covid-19 vaccines around the world. This was in a bid to ensure that at least 67% of the population got vaccinated.
However, the barring of the private sector from procuring the vaccines independently has not been met well by the Western Cape provincial government and a few other groups.
Solidarity’s head of research, Connie Mulder, has slammed the government, claiming that their decision would cause a stall in the rollout of the vaccine. Speaking on Sunday, Mulder said that the delay would result in the virus lasting at least two more years.
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Source: Briefly News
Sibusisiwe Lwandle (Head of Entertainment) Sibusisiwe Lwandle is the Head of Entertainment at Briefly News (joined in 2019). She holds one Bachelor of Arts (BA) and one Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree from the University of Cape Town and the University of KZN respectively. She has over 10 years of experience in journalism, having worked in print, online and broadcast media. She has worked at Independent Media and 1KZNTV and has contributed columns to the Washington Post. Passed set of trainings by Google News Initiative. Email: sibusisiwe.lwandle@briefly.co.za
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