ABC jab

I see that the ABC (Arch Bishop of Canterbury) received his Covid shot this week. It's great (for him) that he's now protected and can do his voluntary chaplaincy work, but also that he is encouraging other people to get the jab and obey the rules in order to shield the more vulnerable among us, this is all good, in fact I'd go so far as to say, it's the "moral" thing to do for a man in his position (unlike some!).

What's less clear cut, morally, is his response to this treatment. He claimed that the vaccination is "an answer to prayer"! Now, if he really believed in the efficacy of prayer (presumably not to Zeus or Allah..) surely he would have prayed for this virus to have vanished in the Summer, or perhaps that everyone spontaneously became immune? Praying that we suffer millions of dead, over a year of social deprivation and only then (as a result of billions of dollars of research and scientific endeavor) we get a vaccine that protects those of us unaffected or undead from Covid seems a little long winded? Perhaps he means "prayer" in the metaphorical sense, i.e. something that we hope for but only seemingly get according to random chance just like, err, luck? So perhaps he's just saying that we're lucky to get a vaccine? He's not wrong! But, rather than credit his invisible friend, he might have also thought to tip his rather elaborate hat in the direction of the scientists whose labors lead to the discovery, understanding and development of vaccines in the first place. A statement like this seems to suggest that if we all just close our eyes and wish hard enough his God will take a break from killing old people with heart conditions and diabetes, not much chance of that I'm afraid..