Pope Francis urges people to get COVID-19 vaccine as "an act of love"

Pope Francis said getting the coronavirus vaccine was "an act of love" Wednesday, as the head of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics joined a campaign to boost confidence in COVID-19 shots.

"Thanks to God and to the work of many, we now have vaccines to protect us from COVID-19," Francis said in a message for the U.S.-based "It's Up to You" initiative. "They grant us the hope of ending the pandemic, but only if they are available to all and if we work together," he said in the video, aimed at communities disproportionately affected by the virus in North, Central and South America.