OTTAWA -- Canadian Catholics should get vaccinated against COVID-19 and they should take any vaccine that has been approved for use in Canada, Canada’s bishops said in a clarifying statement that came just days after initial advice on vaccines caused a political firestorm.

Just a little jab is no big deal for most of us, but getting COVID-19 vaccines into the arms of the most vulnerable took a trio of St. Michael’s Hospital doctors way above and way beyond — 1,200 kilometres above and beyond to the fly-in community of Neskantaga First Nation in Northern Ontario.

The approval of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine for use in Canada has heightened the discussion over whether Catholics should receive the vaccine, though Church teaching remains clear that it is “morally acceptable.”

VATICAN CITY -- As a last resort, the Vatican may sanction employees who refuse to get a COVID-19 vaccine for non-medical reasons, according to a new Vatican decree.

VATICAN CITY -- When the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020, Pope Francis warned it could make inequalities existing around the world even worse.

More than 80 million refugees and others forced from their homes by war, climate change and natural disasters need COVID-19 vaccines just as much as the rest of us, but Canadian Cardinal Michael Czerny worries they’re easily overlooked.

A small Canadian startup hopes to help to bridge the COVID-19 vaccine divide between rich and poor nations.

The message was “blunt,” as he intended it to be: “The world is on the brink of a catastrophic moral failure … and the price of this failure will be paid with lives and livelihoods in the world’s poorest countries.”

The end of our long COVID crisis may be in sight, but until we get there churches and faith leaders still have a job to do, Canada’s chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam told over 1,300 faith leaders on a Jan. 20, nationwide Zoom call.

VATICAN CITY -- As the Vatican health service continued vaccinating Vatican residents and employees against COVID-19, it also began offering the vaccine to homeless people who live in Vatican-owned shelters.

VATICAN CITY -- Both Pope Francis and retired Pope Benedict XVI have received the first dose of the vaccine against COVID-19 after the Vatican started vaccinating its employees and residents Jan. 13.

VATICAN CITY -- The Vatican will begin offering COVID-19 vaccinations in mid-January, giving priority to its health care workers, security personnel, employees who deal with the public and older residents, employees and retirees.

VATICAN CITY -- The Vatican's doctrinal office said that when alternative vaccines are not available, it is morally acceptable to receive COVID-19 vaccines developed or tested using cell lines originating from aborted fetuses.

Canada, with 37.6 million people, has agreements to purchase 194 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines with options to buy another 220 million. If all these vaccines pan out, we could vaccinate Canada’s entire population almost six times over.

VATICAN CITY -- The Vatican health service will begin vaccinating employees and Vatican citizens against COVID-19 using the Pfizer vaccine, the director of the Vatican health service told Vatican News.