Trump assures supporters that COVID-19 vaccination is safe

In an interview Tuesday night on Fox News, Trump acknowledged that people were free to decide for themselves whether they would be vaccinated against COVID-19. 

“We have our freedoms and we have to live by that and I agree with that also. But it is a great vaccine. It is a safe vaccine and it is something that works," he said. 

Republican opposition to receiving the vaccine is strong. A new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that 42 per cent of Republicans say they probably or definitely will not get the shot, compared with 17 per cent of Democrats — a 25-point split. 

Trump has promoted vaccination before. When he appeared February 28 at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference, he said, “Everybody, go get your shot.”