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Former President Trump urged all Americans to get the coronavirus vaccine in a Fox News exclusive interview on Tuesday, touting its efficacy as both "a safe vaccine" and "something that works." ... Unlike President Joe Biden, Trump did not publicly receive the vaccine, but Fox News confirmed earlier this month that both he and former first lady Melania Trump received their vaccines privately in January at the White House. (Halon, 3/16)

Former President Donald Trump said Tuesday he would urge his supporters to get the COVID-19 vaccine, but acknowledged that some of them may refuse in the name of "freedom." "I would recommend it, and I would recommend it to a lot of people that don't want to get it," Trump told Fox News during a 20-minute telephone interview. Trump noted "a lot of those people" who don't want the vaccine "voted for me, frankly. But ... again, we have our freedoms, and we have to live by that, and I agree with that also." (Jackson, 3/16)

Democrats and Republicans alike have been clamoring for Trump to publicly urge his supporters to get a shot amid surveys showing many Republicans are hesitant to getting vaccinated. A PBS Newshour/NPR/Marist poll released last week found that 41 percent of Republicans said they would not get the shot, and a CBS News poll released late last month found that 34 percent of Republicans said they would not be vaccinated for COVID-19. (Axelrod, 3/16)

Trump’s direct appeal to Americans comes as some of his own supporters have exhibited skepticism about taking the coronavirus vaccine. Experts say his endorsement of vaccinations could help alleviate some of that skepticism. Since leaving office, Trump has issued a short statement taking credit for the vaccine’s fast-tracked development and, in passing, told people to take the shot during his speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference last month. (McGraw, 3/16)

U.S. President Joe Biden is suggesting that some Americans who are unwilling to get vaccinated for the coronavirus are unpatriotic. Speaking to ABC News in an interview that aired Wednesday, Biden said he had hoped to get politics out of the nationwide vaccination campaign, and that he’s been surprised by some who are refusing to get shots. Biden said: “I just don’t understand this sort of macho thing about I’m not going to get the vaccine, ‘I have a right as an American, my freedom to not do it.’” (3/17)