Dr. Anthony Fauci said Sunday it would be a “game-changer” for President Trump to encourage his supporters to get the shot – after a poll found many GOP voters indicated they were reluctant.
‘I think it would make a world of difference. He’s a wildly popular person among Republicans, ”Fauci told anchor Chris Wallace on“ Fox News Sunday ”.
‘If he came out and said,’ Get vaccinated, that’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 the people who are his closest followers should listen to him.”
The White House chief medical adviser noted that the Trump administration was responsible for launching Operation Warp Speed to develop vaccines to combat the pandemic.
“It seems an intrinsic contradiction that you had a program started during this presidency that he doesn’t want people to get vaccinated, but I wish he would,” Fauci said. “He has such an incredible influence on the people in the Republican Party, it would really be a game changer if he did.”
A poll released Thursday found that 47 percent of Republicans don’t plan to get the vaccine – and that number rises to 49 percent among GOP men.
In a separate interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Fauci said the results were “disturbing” and “make absolutely no sense.”
“We need to disconnect political affiliation from common sense, no-brainer public health issues,” he told anchor Chuck Todd on Sunday.
“I mean, I just can’t figure out why if you have a vaccine that is 94 to 95 percent effective and very safe. I just don’t get it, ”he continued.
Asked when an American who wants the vaccine should be able to get one, Fauci predicted it would be shortly after May 1 – the date President Biden called on states to make the injection suitable for all adults.
“I hope that will be just a few months after that,” Fauci told CNN anchor Jake Tapper of “State of the Union.”