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Trump and his wife quietly got vaccinated for COVID before leaving the White House

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Former US President Donald Trump and then first lady Melania Trump both received COVID-19 vaccinations as far back as January.

US Media reports quoting an anonymous Trump advisor indicate that the former first couple received the first of a two-dose vaccine regime while still at the White House.

It’s unclear which vaccine – either Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna the Trump’s received, but why they didn’t publicise their vaccinations is unknown.

It was former Vice President Mike Pence and other senior administration officials at the time that appeared in televised vaccine efforts as they sought to grow confidence in the process given high levels of hesitancy amid questions around efficacy and safety – not only in the United States but around the world.

Trump had in the past expressed skepticism around vaccines in general, blaming them for autism – but appears to have shifted his view.

Both President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have been publicly vaccinated against COVID-19.

US President Donald Trump tweets that he, First Lady have tested positive for COVID-19:

Trump did not do enough 

Biden on Thursday said the coronavirus vaccination programme he inherited from Trump was in “much worse shape” than he had expected, while urging patience and said the government has bought 200 million more doses.

“We’re not going to have everything fixed for a while, but we’re going to fix it,” Biden said in remarks at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland.

With demand for the vaccine far outstripping supply, Americans are struggling to get appointments for their inoculations, leaving Biden with an acute problem less than a month after taking over from Trump.

Biden said Trump, who spent his last two months in office in a futile effort to overturn the results of the November 3 presidential election that he lost, did not order enough vaccine and did not do enough to get people lined up to get vaccinated.

A Trump representative did not immediately respond to a request for reaction to Biden’s comments. Trump had expressed pride in the speed of the vaccine development on his watch.

Biden said the US government has signed contracts for 100 million doses of the Moderna vaccine and 100 million more from Pfizer.

Biden promises vaccinations to all Americans by summer: 

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