Is Donald Trump Vaccinated and Will He Get the Booster Shot?

Former President Donald Trump was among the world leaders who got COVID-19 in 2020. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson also got COVID-19. Incidentally, all three were criticized for their initial handling of the pandemic. Bolsonaro infamously called it a "little flu." Is Trump fully vaccinated? Also, what are his views on vaccination and will he get the booster shot?

Trump got COVID-19 in October 2020 about a month before the U.S. presidential elections where he lost to Democratic candidate Joe Biden. While not much information was released publicly about Trump’s condition at the time, it's widely believed that his condition was serious.

Trump acknowledged that he received the COVID-19 vaccine before leaving the White House. Former first lady Melania Trump also got vaccinated. While many people are critical of some of the Trump administration’s actions during the pandemic, Trump did help vaccine makers under Operation Warp Speed.

The U.S. had plenty of vaccines and they became available even though most other countries globally suffered from a severe vaccine shortage. Even India, which is the largest vaccine maker globally, suffered from a shortage, partially because the country didn't invest much in its vaccine companies.

Trump said that he got the Pfizer vaccine. Incidentally, in August, the FDA gave full approval to the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine shot and it became the first and only vaccine so far to get full approval. Now, Pfizer has agreed to let other companies also make its COVID-19 vaccine in a bid to increase the vaccine coverage and availability globally.

Trump doesn't seem too keen to get the booster shot. In the past, Trump said that he would get the booster shot if he felt that it was necessary. Now, he said that he probably won't get one. The FDA plans to expand the eligibility coverage for the Pfizer vaccine to all adults and a decision might be made this week.

Publicly, Trump has supported the COVID-19 vaccination drive and told his supporters to get vaccinated. However, some of his supporters are against vaccines. Trump was booed for supporting vaccinations at the Alabama rally in August.

U.S. vaccination coverage, which was among the fastest globally in the initial days, now risks falling behind. The issue isn't vaccine availability but vaccine hesitancy. Incidentally, vaccine hesitancy rates are higher among Republican voters compared to the total U.S. population.

Trump has supported vaccinations even though he also supports people having the freedom to choose. However, some of the far-right Trump supporters tend to display a higher degree of vaccine hesitancy.

Despite leaving the White House, Trump is among the most followed and famous politicians. While two-term presidents tend to go into oblivion, Trump has managed to stay in the news most of the time. His appeal is exemplified in the price action of Digital World Acquisition Corp. (DWAC), which announced a merger with Trump Media & Technology Group.