Vatican City, Oct 5, 2021 / 08:00 am
Three Swiss Guards have quit after refusing to comply with the Vatican’s COVID-19 vaccine requirement and three other guards have been suspended until they are fully vaccinated.
The Pontifical Swiss Guard, charged with protecting the pope, has required all 135 guards to get a COVID-19 vaccine.
This is a step further than Vatican City’s requirement for a Green Pass, a digital or paper certificate proving one has either been vaccinated, recovered from the coronavirus, or tested negative for COVID-19 within the past 48 hours.
Lt. Urs Breitenmoser, a spokesman for the Swiss Guard, told the Swiss newspaper Tribune de Genève that three guards left on a “voluntary” basis.