Donald Trump gets Covid-19 booster and flu jab despite health secretary vaccine scepticism

The White House released the update

The news comes after the 79-year-old US president was told by a his physician that he has the "cardiac age of a 65-year-old" and is in "exceptional health".

Trump underwent medical checks at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center with details being released by the White House on Friday evening (10 October).

In this note, it was reported that Trump had been given an updated Covid-19 booster as well as an annual flu jab.

This news came as a surprise to many with both Trump and RFK Jr being openly sceptical of vaccines, although Trump notably less so on Covid jabs.

Trump has previously claimed that fragile babies were being pumped full of liquid like they were "horses" and that combination vaccines were harmful.

He said that the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine should be given in single doses rather than a combined shot, and that he had heard a lot of bad things about it over the years.

He has also said on Fox News in 2009: “I think the vaccines can be very dangerous. … A lot of people feel that the vaccines are what causes autism in children.”

However, Trump's hesitation on vaccines tend to revolve around children being administered them, rather than adults, with the president less critical of the Covid jab.

In a congressional meeting last month, Trump said: “You have vaccines that work. They just pure and simple work. They’re not controversial at all. And I think those vaccines should be used. Otherwise some people are going to catch it and they endanger other people.”

However, it's his health secretary RJF Jr who is a true opponent to the Covid vaccine, once calling it "the deadliest vaccine ever made," in 2021.

In the same meeting last month, RFK Jr was pressed on changes to vaccine guidelines with critics coming from both parties.

The US health secretary spoke about how "we were lied to about everything [during Covid-19]” and that “the whole process was politicised."

He added: "My job is to eliminate the politics from science.”

He then went on to say he doesn't know how many people died during the Coronavirus pandemic.

Going back to Trump's health check-up many had wondered why the president of the US was returning to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center only six months after his last tests, suggesting it could be related to previously pointed out issues.

Back in July, the White House revealed that Trump had chronic venous insufficiency, a mild but chronic age related illness.

Trump is the oldest president to ever be sworn in to office, however, his doctor says he has a heart of a youthful 65-year-old.

Physician to the president, Sean Barbabella said that the assessment was a "scheduled follow-up evaluation".

He added that Trump is in "excellent health" and that the president had received an annual flu shot and an updated covid-19 booster, despite his and his health secretary RFK's scepticism of the vaccine's safety.

“He continues to maintain a demanding daily schedule without restriction,” Barbabella said, adding that the president “remains in exceptional health, exhibiting strong cardiovascular, pulmonary, neurological, and physical performance.”