Former President Trump revealed on Monday that he has received a COVID-19 vaccine booster shot.
Why it matters: Trump was vaccinated at the White House in January. But he has often downplayed the pandemic and delivered mixed signals on the shot, despite the fact that Trump-supporting communities tend to have markedly lower vaccination rates.
What he's saying: Appearing on Bill O'Reilly's "History Tour," Trump said his administration was responsible for developing the coronavirus vaccines: "Look, we did something that was historic, we saved tens of millions of lives worldwide when we, together, all of us, we got a vaccine done."
- "This was going to ravage the country far beyond what it is right now, take credit for it," he added.
- However, Trump spoke against vaccine mandates, saying that those who do not wish to get inoculated should not be forced to do so.
Flashback: The former president told the Wall Street Journal in September that he was not planning to get boosted: "I’ll look at stuff later on. I’m not against it, but it’s probably not for me."