(first published, August 3)
My fellow Americans, it is not over.
We set ambitious goals for vaccinating Americans, but the reluctance of too many has blocked us. I said we’d have 70% of America vaccinated by July 4. That skepticism costs us 20 points, though today we’ve now reached 70% with at least one shot.
I’m not going to beat around the bush: This frustrates me enormously. I had many disagreements with President Trump. But his leadership in this area accomplished something that has never been done before. Call it the “Trump Vaccine” if you want — the point is, because he pushed as he did, we had a vaccine developed faster than at any time in our history. And it works. Early trials showed more than 90% efficacy. And what we’ve seen in the past few months is that 99% of fatalities from COVID are with people who have not been vaccinated.
So I am grateful — as the whole nation should be — to the former President. But I wish he’d join me in traveling this nation to get everyone who can to take his vaccine. This could be his greatest legacy. But the longer we dawdle, the more the virus will mutate, and the sooner we could see a variant that could defeat even the Trump Vaccine.
That’s my greatest fear today. I understand many people just want to take their chances. But your gamble is harming others. Freedom is not the right to make others sick — including some like some of my grandchildren, who are too young to protect themselves. It is urgent that we find a way to spread the vaccine more quickly and avoid that killer mutation.
So today, I am announcing a new policy. Every nation should be responsible for at least their own. Today I am committing that America will vaccinate at least three times our own. We will guarantee that at least a billion people are vaccinated against this virus. And depending on how that goes, we may do even more.
But here’s the catch: Of course, I want Americans to be vaccinated first. Yet we’re not going to slow the spread of this vaccine simply because Americans are slow to take it. We’re not going to stand by and watch as vaccines expire on the shelf because Americans fear the needle. Their fear maybe their freedom; but their freedom can’t stop us from fighting this virus.
So I am giving every state 3 weeks to reach my target of 70% fully vaccinated. If any state fails to meet that goal, then we will send the unused vaccines from that state to any country that will use it. If the people of Kentucky don’t want the vaccine, we’ll send it to Honduras. If Texans don’t want the vaccine, we’ll send it across the border to Mexico. We are going to get as many people vaccinated as quickly as we can. And while Americans may have the freedom to be selfish, we’re not going to waste our chance to defeat this virus by waiting for them to become convinced.
So y’all have until the end of this month. But beginning in September, the states that have failed to meet my target will have their allocations sent south.
Obviously, I don’t want to have to do this. I don’t want the expense of moving these drugs twice; I don’t want any American to miss the chance of the Trump Vaccine protection. But we must make more progress than we have. We must get more people — regardless of nationality—vaccinated. And we must do it quickly.
If you’ve not gotten your vaccine, know there’s one waiting for you. But it will only wait for another couple of weeks. Then we’ll send your vaccine to someone who will actually use it. We’re going to beat this virus, whether you’re with us and the Trump Vaccine or not.
God bless America, and God bless the front-line workers who are trying desperately to keep us safe.
