Trump hails the COVID-19 vaccine as 'one of the greatest achievements of mankind' and rejects vaccine skepticism in new interview

Former President Donald Trump hailed the COVID-19 vaccine and pushed back on vaccine skepticism in a new interview with conservative commentator Candace Owens.

Trump called the vaccine "one of the greatest achievements of mankind" and praised his administration's success in getting the vaccine developed on his watch.

Typically, vaccine development takes years, but the Trump administration pumped billions of dollars into Operation Warp Speed to help produce a vaccine ready at record speed. The Food and Drug Administration authorized the Moderna and BioNTech-Pfizer vaccines for emergency use in December 2020. The Johnson and Johnson vaccine was authorized for emergency use in February under President Joe Biden's administration.

"All are very, very good. Came up with three of them in less than nine months. It was supposed to take five to 12 years," Trump told Owens.

Owens has previously elevated vaccine skepticism and has repeatedly said that she has not gotten the vaccine. "It will NEVER enter my arm," she tweeted in August.

In her interview with Trump, Owens raised doubts about the vaccine, saying the COVID-19 death toll has still increased even as the vaccines have been made available over the past year. 

Trump firmly rejected the proposition. "No, the vaccine worked. But some people aren't taking it. The ones that get very sick and go to the hospital are the ones that don't take their vaccine."

Though Trump said he disagrees with vaccine mandates, he encouraged getting the shot.