Dr. Anthony Fauci said Sunday it would be a “game changer” for President Trump to encourage his supporters to get the punch – after a poll found many Republican Party voters indicated they were reluctant.
“I think it would make all the difference in the world. He is a very popular person among Republicans, “Fauci told anchor Chris Wallace on” Fox News Sunday. “
“If he came out and said,‘ Go get vaccinated, it’s very important to your health. the health of your family and that of the country ‘, it seems absolutely inevitable that the vast majority of people who are your closest followers will hear you. “
The White House chief medical adviser noted that the Trump administration was in charge of launching Operation Warp Speed to develop vaccines to combat the pandemic.
“It seems an intrinsic contradiction that you had a program that started during this presidency and that doesn’t tell people to get vaccinated, but I would like it to do that,” Fauci said. “He has such an incredible influence on the people of the Republican Party, that it would really be a game changer if he did.”
A poll released Thursday showed that 47 percent of Republicans do not plan to get the vaccine, with a figure rising to 49 percent among Republican Party men.
In a separate interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Fauci said the results are “disturbing” and “make absolutely no sense.”
“We need to dissociate political persuasion from what common sense is, public health things that do nothing,” Chuck Todd told anchor Sunday.
“I mean, I just can’t understand what the reason is when you have a vaccine that is 94 to 95% effective and is very safe. I just don’t understand, “he continued.
Asked when any American who wants the vaccine should be able to get one, Fauci predicted it should be shortly after May 1, the date President Biden asked states to make the vaccine eligible. for all adults.
“I hope it’s a couple of months later,” Fauci told CNN anchor Jake Tapper on “State of the Union.”