The Pope has used his traditional Christmas Day Urbi et Orbi message to say that the vaccine for coronavirus must be available for all. 

In a break with convention, Pope Francis delivered the message virtually from within the Vatican instead of his traditional place on the central balcony of St Peter's Basilica.

The Pope said that the vaccine must be available for all as he warned against "vaccine nationalism" and the "the virus of radical individualism".

"At this moment in history, marked by the ecological crisis and grave economic and social imbalances only worsened by the coronavirus pandemic, it is all the more important for us to acknowledge one another as brothers and sisters," he said.

"I beg everyone, heads of state, companies and international organisations to promote cooperation and not competition, to find a solution for everyone - vaccines for all - especially for the most vulnerable and needy in all areas of the planet."

The Pope also remembered those who have suffered this year because of conflict, humanitarian crises and natural disasters.

He asked the faithful to remember in their prayers the victims of war, especially in Syria, Iraq and Yemen.

Other areas mentioned in his message included Israel, Palestine, Libya, Lebanon, South Sudan, Nigeria and Nagorno-Karabakh, in South Caucasus, where he prayed that the international community would work to support a ceasefire.

"In everyone, I see reflected the face of God, and in those who suffer, I see the Lord pleading for my help. I see him in the sick, the poor, the unemployed, the marginalized, the migrant and the refugee," he said.

He also remembered families unable to come together on Christmas Day because of the pandemic, and parts of the American continent that have struggled with high rates of coronavirus.

Despite the difficulties being experienced by many the world over, he said that the Christ child "tells us that pain and evil are not the final word".

He also paid tribute to those who "work to bring hope, comfort and help to those who suffer and those who are alone."

He concluded with an appeal for Christmas to be a time when people remember the role of the family "as a cradle of life and faith, a place of acceptance and love, dialogue, forgiveness".