Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top US infectious disease expert, said on Sunday he hopes former President Donald Trump will push his supporters to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
In a PBS NewsHour/NPR/Marist poll released last week, about half of US men who identified themselves as Republicans said they had no plans to get the vaccine.
Asked whether Trump should speak to his supporters directly, given those poll numbers, Fauci said on the "Fox News Sunday" program: "I think it would make all the difference in the world." Trump, Fauci said, "is a such a strongly popular person ... it would be very helpful for the effort for that to happen."
Trump told attendees at a conservative conference last month to get vaccinated - saying, "everybody, go get your shot" – the first time he had encouraged people to do so.
Fauci said on NBC's "Meet the Press" program: "How such a large proportion of a certain group of people would not want to get vaccinated merely because of political considerations ... it makes absolutely no sense," Fauci said.
President Joe Biden and other political leaders received their shots publicly to encourage Americans to get vaccinated.
Trump was reportedly vaccinated privately in the White House in January.
Getting the vaccine is "no brainer," Fauci told "Meet the Press," as he listed some of the diseases that vaccines had wiped out such as small pox. "What is the problem here? This is a vaccine that is going to be lifesaving for millions of people," Fauci said.
