WASHINGTON ‒ President Donald Trump said Americans should take vaccines that are "not controversial" as he distanced himself from Florida's plans to end all vaccine mandates including for schoolchildren.

Trump gave one of his clearest defenses of vaccines on Sept. 5 in response to a question from a reporter who asked for his position on the new controversial Florida policy pushed by Gov. Ron DeSantis' administration. The president's remarks came as his own Health and Human Services secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is under fire amid turmoil in the CDC sparked by Kennedy's vaccine skepticism.

"I think we have to be very careful," Trump said when asked about Florida's plans to phase out vaccine mandates. "Look, you have some vaccines that are so amazing."

Trump touted the polio vaccine, calling it "amazing," and added that "a lot of people that the COVID (vaccine) is amazing."

"I think you have to be very careful when you say that some people don't have to be vaccinated. It's a very, you know, it's a very tough position," Trump said.

He added: "Look, 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. And when you don't have controversy at all, I think people should take it."

Kennedy, who Trump has stood by while criticism of his leadership has mounted, faced a grilling from senators at a Sept. 4 hearing over actions as the nation's top health official that reflect his long-held skepticism of vaccines.

Kennedy in June fired all 17 members of a committee that advises the federal government on vaccine safety, replacing them with hand-picked choices. The Food and Drug Administration in August set tighter guidelines on who can receive the latest COVID-19 vaccines, recommending the shots to only people over 65 or those with existing health problems. And Trump fired CDC director Susan Monarez on Aug. 27 following a disagreement she had with Kennedy over vaccine policy.

During the explosive hearing before the Senate Finance Committee, Kennedy refused to acknowledge more than 1 million Americans died from coronavirus, as is widely accepted in the public health community, and was reluctant to give COVID-19 vaccines credit in saving lives.

"I don't know how many died," Kennedy said. "I don't think anybody knows because there was so much data chaos coming out of the CDC."

Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: President Trump says Americans should take vaccines that are 'not controversial'

Reporting by Joey Garrison, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect