Former United States President Donald Trump speaks during a rally in Cullman, Alabama, USA
Marvin Gentry | Reuters
Former President Donald Trump was booed at a rally in Alabama on Saturday after telling supporters they should be vaccinated.
“And you know what? I totally believe in your freedoms. I do. You have to do what you have to do,” Trump said. “But, I recommend: take the shots. I did. It’s good. Take the shots.”
Some boos erupted among the multitude of demonstrations, which were largely without masks.
“No, it’s okay. It’s okay. You have your freedoms,” Trump said, echoing the rhetoric of opponents of mask and vaccine mandates. “But I accidentally get the shot. If it doesn’t work, you’ll be the first to know. Okay? I’ll call Alabama, I’ll tell you, hey, you know what? But [the vaccine] is working. But you have your freedoms that you have to maintain. It needs to be maintained. “
Large areas of the south are experiencing an increase in cases and covid hospitalizations due to the delta variant of the highly contagious coronavirus. Cullman, where the rally was held, is experiencing an increase in cases that has coincided with its peak earlier in late December. The city on Thursday declared a state of emergency Covid to give extra emergency support to the rally.
Alabama has the lowest vaccination rate in the United States, with just over 36 percent of its population completely inoculated, according to an NBC News tracker. Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, a Republican, has said “unvaccinated people” are to blame for Covid’s resurgence in the state.
Across the country, the vast majority of Covid hospitalizations and deaths occur among unvaccinated Americans, The New York Times reported this month.
A Kaiser Family Foundation vaccine follow-up survey released earlier this month found Republicans were the second most likely demographic group to get vaccinated, just above uninsured 65-year-old Americans. While 57% of Republicans have received at least one dose of the vaccine or say they will get a shot as soon as possible, 40 percent say they will or will never do so, only if necessary or are still in mode. waiting. This total 40% is the second highest of the 23 demographic groups surveyed.
Trump has previously approved the vaccination, but has often made it coincide with similar warnings. Last week, after promoting the vaccines in an interview with Fox Business personality Maria Bartiromo, Trump stated the next reinforcement features recommended by the Biden administration as “a money-making operation for Pfizer.” (The Biden administration recommended booster shots for those who received Pfizer and Moderna vaccines).
Pfizer, which Trump has similarly attacked earlier, was not part of his administration’s “Operation Warp Speed,” the public-private partnership to accelerate vaccine development. Trump did not mention Modern, which was part of the program.