President Donald Trump said last week that he is unlikely to get a Covid-19 vaccine booster shot that health officials could potentially encourage in the coming weeks.
“I feel like I’m in good shape from that standpoint, I probably won’t,” said Trump during an interview with The Wall Street Journal. “I’ll look at stuff later on. I’m not against it, but it’s probably not for me.”
While speaking to supporters at his rally in Alabama last month, he urged Americans to get vaccinated, but asserted that vaccine mandates should not be allowed.
“You know what? I believe totally in your freedoms. I do. You’ve got to do what you have to do. But I recommend, take the vaccines. I did it. It’s good. Take the vaccines,” Trump said to supporters.
“You’ve got your freedoms, but I happen to take the vaccine. If it doesn’t work, you’ll be the first to know, Okay? I’ll call up, Alabama. I’ll say, ‘Hey, you know what?’ But it is working. But you do have your freedoms. You have to keep — you have to maintain that,” he continued defending personal freedom.
Both Donald and Melania Trump received the vaccine in January after it became available for mass distribution because of Operation Warp Speed, an unprecedented effort by the Trump administration to manufacture effective vaccines as fast as possible.
Trump has criticized forced vaccine mandates amid their implementation in some states, such as New York.
“I love our people, so I want our people to take the vaccines. But at the same time, I have to tell you, you can’t mandate it. You can’t force it,” said the 45th president during an interview with the John Fredricks Show.
The Food and Drug Administration has authorized an additional shot for certain immunocompromised individuals. The FDA is expected to move forward with an extra dose for Pfizer shots beginning in mid-September.
