Dr. Anthony Fauci said Sunday he wishes former President Donald Trump would use his popularity among Republicans to persuade more of his followers to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
In a round of interviews on the morning news shows, the government’s top infectious disease expert lamented polling showing that Trump supporters are more likely to refuse to get vaccinated, saying politics needs to be separated from “commonsense, no-brainer” public health measures.
Fauci said it would be a “game changer” for the country’s vaccine efforts if the former president used his “incredible influence” among Republicans.
“If he came out and said, ‘Go and get vaccinated. It’s really important for your health, the health of your family and the health of the country,’ it seems absolutely inevitable that the vast majority of people who are his close followers would listen to him,” Fauci told “Fox News Sunday.”
There was no immediate comment from the former president’s office Sunday.
Trump has urged people to get vaccinated, doing so again two weeks ago at a conservative political gathering in Florida.
But he hasn’t been among former presidents and other public officials who have been vaccinated on camera to encourage others to get the shot. It was revealed only recently that he was vaccinated in private at the White House before leaving office in January.
Trump did not appear in a new public service campaign for the COVID-19 vaccine that included former Presidents Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama.
Polls have shown Republicans joining Black people and other groups in expressing greater skepticism than others about the safety of the vaccine.
Fauci said he doesn’t understand the resistance.
“What is the problem here? This is a vaccine that is going to be lifesaving for millions of people,” he said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” He added: “I mean, I just can’t comprehend what the reason for that is when you have a vaccine that’s 94-95% effective and it is very safe. I just don’t get it.”
The number of vaccine doses distributed and administered each day in the U.S. is rising, with more than 2.5 million daily shots in arms on average in the last week.
About 1 in 5 Americans have received at least one dose, with about 1 in 9 fully vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The coronavirus is blamed for over 530,000 deaths in the United States. Deaths and newly confirmed infections per day have tumbled over the past two months. But cases are running at a still-troubling average of about 55,000 a day.
Fauci repeatedly warned against pulling back on public health measures too early, saying the virus could come surging back, endangering the goal of getting the country closer to normal by early July.
He pointed to Europe as a cautionary tale. Rising virus cases this winter followed rollbacks on restrictions on the continent.
(AP)
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8 Responses
Let’s slfirst see fauci get his 2nd dose of the vaccine publically.
Let’s first see fauci get his 2nd dose of the vaccine publically.
I am so confused. Where was this guy when Biden and all the Democrats were expressing skepticism about the vaccine while Trump was still in office?
Trump was a strong proponent of the vaccines. After all, it’s thanks to his Operation Warp Speed that we have the vaccines at all! I don’t understand why the polling shows that Republicans are less likely to get vaccinated. Anti-vax is more typically a left-wing position.
Of course, it’s possible that the polls are wrong, as they are on so many other issues. I wonder how the questions were worded.
He hasn’t heard of Operation Warp Speed?
Flashback: “Democratic vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris said Wednesday that she would not take a vaccine recommended by President Trump during a heated debate clash over the White House’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Harris accused Vice President Mike Pence, head of the Trump administration’s coronavirus task force, of failing to disclose critical information to Americans in the early days of the pandemic. When asked about a poll showing half of Americans would not take a vaccine as soon as it is available, Harris indicated that she was skeptical of Trump’s involvement in the rollout of a potential vaccine.”
Wow what sickness. Whoever wants to yet vaccinated doesn’t need Trump to urge them. Whoever does not, doesn’t need Trump to urge them.
We are not sheep following whatever Trump orders.
Um….
Trump DID encourage his supporters to get the vaccine by his CPAC speech
But of course you won’t hear about it in the media. The speech was censored off youtube and other such sites even though he said nothing controversial.
What does he want Trump to do now. Tweet about taking the vaccine on his banned twitter account?
I’m not a Trump fan but faulting him for not encouraging the vaccine is ridiculous.
Trump did not appear in a new public service campaign for the COVID-19 vaccine that included former Presidents Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama.
Does anyone thin Trump was INVITED to join that public service campaign for the COVID-19 vaccine?
Trump doesn’t care about his supporters, only himself. He wants credit for the vaccine but hid the fact he and his wife got it, terrified he’d look weak.
Fact- Pfizer was not involved in warp speed at all.
Many thanks to the scientists who developed the vaccines!