Former US President Donald Trump’s huge COVID-19 vaccine claim

He might not be president any more, but that hasn’t stopped Donald Trump from making a big claim about the virus.

Former US President Donald Trump has stunned Americans by taking credit for the COVID-19 vaccine.

In a statement issued by “The Office of Donald J Trump” – which was established in January after he left the White House – the “45th President of the United States of America” claimed he was single-handedly responsible for the vaccine roll out.

“I hope everyone remembers when they’re getting the COVID-19 (often referred to as the China Virus) vaccine, that if I wasn’t President, you wouldn’t be getting that beautiful ‘shot’ for five years, at best, and probably wouldn’t be getting it at all,” the statement reads.

“I hope everyone remembers!”

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Former US President Donald Trump has stunned wit a new vaccine claim. Picture: Mandel Ngan/AFP

I can't believe people are retweeting Donald Trump's press statements.

— Don Winslow (@donwinslow) March 11, 2021

Trump is not actually off Twitter if we’re all just going to post his pathetic “statements” on here for him. Stop it.

— Gary Whitta (@garywhitta) March 11, 2021

Mr Trump, who was permanently banned from Twitter in the wake of the deadly January 6 Washington DC insurrection “due to the risk of further incitement of violence”, has been severely criticised for his handling of the pandemic, which is widely considered to be one of the reasons behind his crushing election defeat.
According to the latest figures from Johns Hopkins University, the US is leading the world when it comes to both the total number of virus infections and the death toll, standing at 29,149,380 and 529,054 respectively.

In investigative journalist Bob Woodward’s explosive 2020 book, Rage, he claimed Mr Trump knew the coronavirus crisis was deadlier than the flu but “wanted to always play it down”.

“This is deadly stuff,” Mr Trump told Woodward in a phone call on February 7.

“You just breathe the air and that’s how it’s passed.

“And so that’s a very tricky one. That’s a very delicate one. It’s also more deadly than even your strenuous flu. This is deadly stuff.”

However, as the pandemic progressed Mr Trump continuously failed to take it seriously, telling the American people: “Don’t be afraid of COVID" and questioned the effectiveness of masks.

On Wednesday, it was announced that a quarter of American adults had already received their first COVID-19 vaccine dose.

President Joe Biden announced last week that enough vaccines will have been procured to vaccinate every adult by late May.

“On Saturday, we hit a record of 2.9 million vaccinations in one day in America, and beyond the numbers are the stories,” Mr. Biden said on Wednesday at a White House event to celebrate the milestone.

“A father who says he no longer fears for his daughter when she leaves to go to work at the hospital.

“The children are now able to hug their grandparents. The vaccines bring hope and healing in so many ways.”

Mr Trump’s latest statement sparked a backlash on social media, with calls for people to stop retweeting his press releases.