Marc RamirezMary Walrath-Holdridge
OCT 10, 2025
President Donald Trump has received updated flu and COVID-19 booster shots in preparation for upcoming travel, the president’s physician announced Oct. 10.
Sean P. Barbabella, a U.S. Navy captain, shared the information in a letter submitted Friday to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
“President Donald J. Trump successfully completed a scheduled follow-up evaluation today at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center,” Barbabella wrote, saying the visit was part of the president’s ongoing health maintenance plan and included “advanced imaging, lab testing and preventative assessments.”
Last month, Trump demanded that COVID-19 vaccine makers provide proof of their effectiveness.
“Many people think they are a miracle that saved Millions of lives. Others disagree!” he said of COVID-19 medications such as vaccines made by Pfizer, Moderna and other pharmaceutical firms. “With CDC being ripped apart over this question, I want the answer, and I want it NOW.”
Trump, 79, made the remarks in a Sept. 1 post on Truth Social following his dismissal of CDC director Susan Monarez a month into her tenure after a dispute with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime skeptic of vaccines.
In July, the president was diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency that has resulted in visible swelling in his lower legs near his ankles.
On Friday, Barbabella said that in addition to Trump’s flu and COVID booster shots, the president also received preventative health screenings, he said, adding that Trump “continues to demonstrate excellent overall health.”
Trump led the initiative to speed COVID vaccine development in his first term. But he has supported Kennedy’s leadership of the Health and Human Services Department so far, including the Food and Drug Administration’s decision to narrow COVID shot approval for Americans under 65, Kennedy’s firing of the vaccine advisory panel, and his claims linking autism to Tylenol and childhood vaccines. A recent poll found that only 1 in 4 Americans believe Kennedy’s recommendations are based on scientific evidence.
The Food and Drug Administration declared COVID-19 vaccine guidance changes in late August, ending emergency-use authorizations for COVID-19 vaccines and approving Moderna, Pfizer and Novavax immunizations only for people over 65 and those with existing health conditions make them “high risk.”
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