On Tuesday, former President Donald Trump urged Americans to get a COVID-19 vaccine.
He said he would recommend the vaccine to people who are still hesitant or who do not want to get it, acknowledging that people should be free to decide for themselves.
Trump told Fox News, “I would recommend it, and I would recommend it to a lot of people that don’t want to get it, and a lot of those people voted for me, frankly.”
“We have our freedoms and we have to live by that, and I agree with that also,” he added, “but it is a great vaccine. It is a safe vaccine, and it is something that works.”
Trump and former first lady Melania Trump received the vaccine before leaving the White House in January, according to Fox News. However, Trump did not mention publicly that he received the vaccine.
Former Vice President Mike Pence and other top White House officials received their vaccine on television as a public show of support in December.
Last month, Trump promoted the vaccine at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Florida, stating, “Everybody, go get your shot.”
However, a recent survey has shown that 49% of Republican men said they do not intend to get a vaccine. Another poll found that about 33% of Republicans said they did not plan to get vaccinated.
Meanwhile, public health officials have expressed concerns over Republicans’ hesitancy over getting a COVID-19 vaccine.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), told Fox News, “This isn’t a political issue, this is a public health issue.”
It “would make all the difference in the world” if Trump urged his supporters to get vaccinated, added Dr. Fauci, who is also a key member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force.
As of Tuesday, the United States has distributed more than 142 million vaccine doses, according to the CDC. Over 72 million Americans have received at least one shot of the vaccine, and nearly 40 million are fully vaccinated.
Trump also applauded his administration for taking a “big bet” on developing COVID-19 vaccines.
He said, “It works incredibly well — 95%, maybe even more than that. It is really saving our country, and it is saving, frankly, the world.” The article was published Wednesday on Medscape Medical News.
