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Trump takes credit for COVID-19 vaccine: 'I hope everyone remembers!'

By FOX 35 News Staff
Updated  March 11, 2021 5:10pm EST
Coronavirus Vaccine
FOX 13 Tampa Bay

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WASHINGTON - Former President Trump touted his administration's efforts obtaining a COVID-19 vaccine, saying that without him, Americans would not have received a vaccine for years.

"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 5 years, at best, and probably wouldn’t be getting it at all," read a statement from the former president. "I hope everyone remembers!"

His comments come ahead of President Joe Biden's planned primetime address on Thursday night, his first prime-time address since taking office, to discuss the "next phase" of the fight against the pandemic that has killed more than 529,000 Americans.

RELATED: Governor: COVID-19 vaccines could be available to everyone in April

On Wednesday, Congress approved the president’s $1.9 trillion " American Rescue Plan," aimed at easing the economic impact of the virus on tens of millions of people. And the nation was on pace to administer its 100 millionth dose of vaccine as soon as Thursday.

After meeting with CEO's from Johnson & Johnson and Merck, Biden celebrated their partnership to produce the former's vaccine, and plans to order 100 million doses. 

Biden has gone on to praise his own administration's efforts on the issue, saying that the U.S. is "now on track to have enough vaccine supply for every American adult by the end of May -- months earlier than anyone expected," according to FOX News.

RELATED: Biden aims to usher US into 'next phase' of pandemic in primetime speech

Under Trump, the White House pursued "Operation Warp Speed," which National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins said was "incredibly important."

"The fact that we in December have not one, but two vaccines that had gone through trials and had been judged safe and effective by a very rigorous and very public FDA process is just breathtaking," he told Axios on HBO. 

FOX News contributed to this report.