Trump touts effectiveness of Covid-19 vaccine

Former President Donald Trump pushed back on a questioner's skepticism about the effectiveness and safety of the Covid-19 vaccine in a new interview, saying that the "vaccine works" and "people aren't dying when they take the vaccine."

"Look, the results of the vaccine are very good, and if you do get (Covid), it's a very minor form. People aren't dying when they take the vaccine," he said in an interview with The Daily Wire's Candace Owens that was released Tuesday.

When Owens began raising doubt about the vaccine efficacy, Trump interjected, saying, "Well, no, the vaccine works."

"The ones that get very sick and go to the hospital are the ones that don't take their vaccine. But it's still their choice, and if you take the vaccine, you are protected," he said.

It's the latest endorsement by Trump, who has repeatedly declined opportunities to more forcefully urge Americans, and especially his supporters, about the importance of getting vaccinated. Cases and hospitalizations are presently surging across the US due to the Delta and Omicron variants, but reports largely indicate much milder outcomes for those who have been vaccinated and boosted as opposed to those who haven't been vaccinated.

Trump, however, has frequently politicized the development and rollout of the vaccines and told The Wall Street Journal in September that he was unlikely to get a booster shot. He was also inconsistent on promoting science-backed recommendations to slow the spread of the virus and pushed disproven treatments for Covid-19.