Dr. Anthony Fauci on Sunday urged former President Donald Trump to publicly encourage his supporters to get vaccinated against COVID-19, expressing shock and disappointment that so many Republicans are declining the shot, according to a recent poll.<\/p>\n
Fauci, speaking on \u201cFox News Sunday,\u201d said that Trump encouraging Republicans to get the vaccine \u201cwould make all the difference in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a very widely popular person among Republicans. If he came out and said, \u2018Go and get vaccinated, it\u2019s really important\u2019 … it seems absolutely inevitable that the vast majority of people who are his close followers would listen to him,\u201d said Fauci.<\/p>\n
Trump and his wife, Melania, were reportedly quietly vaccinated back in January. When asked about why the two haven\u2019t supported the effort more, Fauci shared his own confusion.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s puzzling to me. I mean, clearly Operation Warp Speed started in the Trump administration. It was very successful in getting us the vaccines we have right now,\u201d Fauci said of the Trump administration\u2019s program to develop a vaccine, which began last year.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt seems like an intrinsic contradiction, the fact that you had a program that was started during his presidency and he\u2019s not telling people to get vaccinated,\u201d he said. \u201cI wish he would. He has such an incredible influence over people in the Republican Party. It would really be a game changer if he did.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fauci\u2019s plea follows a recent NPR survey, which found that 49% of Republican men said they did not plan to get a COVID-19 vaccine, compared with just 6% of Democratic men who said the same. Nearly half of those who said they supported Trump in the 2020 election said they don\u2019t plan to get vaccinated, compared to 10% of Biden supporters.<\/p>\n
On Thursday, all former living presidents and first ladies, except for the Trumps, appeared in a public service announcement that urged Americans to get vaccinated when they are able to.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Last week, Biden ordered public health officials across the country to make sure all American adults are eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine by May 1.<\/p>\n
Despite some Americans apparently declining to get vaccinated, Fauci lauded current vaccine efforts, which are distributing millions of shots per day. At this rate, he said in a separate interview with CNN\u2019s \u201cState of the Union,\u201d anyone who wants the vaccine will likely have received one by the end of summer. He credited the opening of community centers and mobile units for helping expand vaccine coverage across the U.S.<\/p>\n