Editorial: Congratulating Trump on his embrace of COVID-19 vaccines
During the COVID-19 vaccine rollout last winter, four past presidents participated in public service announcements urging Americans to roll up their sleeves.
Democrats Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama joined Republican George W. Bush in spreading the word about this crucial tool in the fight against the pandemic.
The only living past president not among them? Donald Trump - ironically the one who pushed for the vaccine to be produced in record time.
Yet, Trump made headlines this weekend when he and political commentator Bill O'Reilly were booed during a tour stop in Dallas after they told the crowd they were fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and had received their booster shots.
"Oh, don't, don't, don't!" Trump said in discouraging the boos.
He hailed the vaccines as "great" and "historic" - and he's right on both counts.
Trump reminded his supporters of his administration's Operation Warp Speed to bring a vaccine to the American people and said they were playing into the hands of his opponents when they blast the shots instead of taking credit for them.
It's an important message. And while we wish he had done far more to push the vaccine since leaving office in January, we are glad for the leadership in his most recent words. After all, a recent Kaiser Family Foundation survey found that 60 percent of unvaccinated Americans in October identified as Republicans.
We enjoyed a summer that felt far more normal, thanks to the vaccine. But surging case numbers this month and terrifying hospitalization statistics make the waning days of 2021 feel a lot like 2020.
This is not, however, a time for hopelessness.
Rather, it is a time to embrace the tools we have to fight COVID-19 - to test before we gather over the holidays and to mask up when needed.
It's also the time to set aside all the noise and misinformation and get vaccinated. If you are vaccinated, to get a booster - today if you can - since research has shown it helps against the new variant.
We all know of breakthrough cases, but they are usually mild. The vaccine, as Trump pointed out, saves lives: The vast majority of severe COVID-19 cases and deaths are among the unvaccinated. And each hospital bed taken up by an unvaccinated COVID-19 patient decreases the availability for others in need.
That's why Trump's words over the weekend should resonate with all of us.
"Be like President Trump," U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Ian Sams tweeted this week, "and get your booster."
When a Biden administration official and Donald Trump agree on something, perhaps it's time to listen.