Trump on Vaccine: ‘People Aren’t Dying When They Take’ It

Former President Donald Trump pushed back on Candace Owens after she implied that the coronavirus vaccines are not effective in protecting people against COVID-19.

In an interview with Owens, Trump touted the vaccines’ safety and effectiveness in addition to the fact that they were created in less than a year as he simultaneously disapproved of government vaccination and mask mandates.

“The vaccine is one of the greatest achievements of mankind,” Trump said, adding that without them the pandemic could have reflected the astronomically high death toll of the 1918 Spanish flu. “I came up with three vaccines, all are very, very good … in less than nine months.”

Owens, however, replied that more Americans have died of COVID-19 in 2021 than in 2020, even though the vaccines, which have repeatedly proven to be safe and effective in protecting against hospitalization and death, are widely available.

Trump quickly responded, saying that the higher death toll in 2021 was not due to the vaccine’s alleged ineffectiveness, but just the opposite.

“The vaccine worked, but some people aren’t taking it,” Trump said. “The ones that get very sick and go to the hospital are the ones who don’t take the vaccine,” he continued, adding that receiving the vaccine should be a choice for all to make.

“If you take the vaccine, you’re protected,” Trump said. “The results of the vaccine are very good. And if you do get it, it’s a very minor form. People aren’t dying when they take the vaccine.”