Former President Donald Trump recently appeared before an audience in Dallas, Texas to share that he had gotten a booster shot of the COVID vaccine, causing some to yell "boo!" at the former Republican president. His comments about getting a third shot of the COVID vaccine came after a large percent of Republican voters continue to refuse getting even just one dose of the COVID vaccine.
When former Fox News host Bill O'Reilly asked former President Trump if he got a booster shot of the COVID vaccine, the 75 year old said "Yes," to which audience members responded with boos.
"Don't, don't, don't, don't, don't," Trump addressed the dissenters as he waved his hand dismissively, according to CNBC. "That's all right, it's a very tiny group over there."
During the interview, the former Republican president remarked, "We saved tens of millions worldwide by creating the vaccine."
"It would have been like the Spanish flu without it," Trump said. "We should take credit for it, and you play right into their hands" when one questions the value of the vaccine, he added.
The government's crackdown on vaccine hesitancy comes amidst the rapid spread of COVID's Omicron variant, which now accounts for 73% of new cases in parts of the U.S., and in others, up to 90%, CBN News reported. Dr. Wesley Long of Houston Methodist Hospital explained that Omicron "really achieved in about three weeks what it took Delta three months to accomplish.
Moreover, the first alleged death from the Omicron variant has been recorded in a man from Harris County, Texas, who had an underlying health condition and was unvaccinated. Health authorities urge qualified individuals to get their booster shots. Moderna reported that its booster shot increases antibody levels against the Omicron variant up to 37 times. Pfizer said its vaccine increases antibodies by up to 25 times.
But vaccine hesitancy remains one of the biggest problems facing America today. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, "As of December 13, 2021, White people accounted for the largest share (63%) of people who are unvaccinated." During the vaccination rollout that began late last year, Black and Hispanic people were less likely than White people to receive a vaccine, but the divide had narrowed over time, especially for Hispanic people.
Forbes reported on Tuesday that up to 90% of unvaccinated U.S. adults said that even the highly transmissible Omicron variant will not encourage them to get vaccinated, a new KFF poll revealed. Almost half of surveyed unvaccinated individuals said nothing would ever change their mind. A small portion of unvaccinated folks or 12% said they wanted "more research/transparency" before getting vaccinated, while 6% said they would comply to vaccine mandates, and 5% said they would get vaccinated if they received a "large sum of money."
Vaccine hesitancy and refusal may be linked to the underreported adverse side effects and deaths following the COVID vaccines. There have also been concerns about mRNA vaccines causing heart inflammation problems and cases of adverse reactions, millions of which have been documented but underreported. Some reports showed that COVID vaccines also caused thousands of nervous system disorders.
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(UPDATE Dec. 22, 2021, 5:43 p.m. EST) - The Blaze reported that while media outlets claimed that the first person in America who died while infected with the Omicron variant died of the virus, public health officials won't confirm if he did die as a result of being infected with the new variant. Per The Blaze,
"Harris County public health officials did not say the man died from the Omicron variant of COVID-19. Rather, the man died after testing positive for the Omicron variant, meaning he died with it.
In fact, Martha Marquez, a spokesperson for the Harris County Public Health Department, confirmed Tuesday that health officials are not saying the man died from the Omicron variant; simply, they reported the death of a man who was Omicron-positive when he passed away.
"We can't confirm that the patient from COVID, but we can say that he was Omicron-positive at the time of his death," Marquez explained."
