Trump privately received the coronavirus vaccine while he was president in January

• Former President Donald Trump privately received the COVID-19 vaccine in January.
• Multiple news outlets reported that he got the vaccine at the White House.
• Trump encouraged his supporters to get the shot for the first time on Sunday.

Former President Donald Trump received the coronavirus vaccine while he was in office in January, multiple news outlets revealed on Monday.

Trump and former First Lady Melania Trump privately got the COVID-19 vaccine at the White House, an advisor to the former president told the New York Times.

It's unclear which vaccine they received. In December, the Food and Drug Administration authorized two vaccine candidates developed by Pfizer and Moderna.

Trump's press office did not immediately return Insider's request for comment.

The news comes after Trump gave his first speech since leaving office at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Sunday night. During his remarks, he touted his administration's vaccine rollout and encouraged his supporters to get the shot.

While president, Trump regularly took credit for the swift development of the vaccines, but avoided telling Americans to get vaccinated as doses started to be administered across the nation.

Several top politicians, including former Vice President Mike Pence and then-President-elect Joe Biden, publicly received the vaccine in December in an effort to boost confidence and combat misinformation. At the time, Trump wouldn't specify when he planned to take the vaccine. He said on December 13 that he would do so "at the appropriate time."

Public health expert Dr. Anthony Fauci said on December 15 that top public officials, including Trump, should receive the shot right away. Likewise, then-coronavirus testing czar Adm. Brett Giroir encouraged Trump to take the vaccine so it could "generate more confidence among the people who follow him so closely."

According to recent polling, Republicans are less willing to get the vaccine than Democrats. Public health officials have stressed the importance of Americans receiving the vaccine in order to help return the country to a state of normalcy and move past the coronavirus pandemic. Biden has blamed Trump for sowing doubt about the vaccine to the public.

As president, Trump frequently dismissed following public health guidelines during the pandemic and mocked mask-wearing on several occasions. The former president contracted the coronavirus in October and was hospitalized for three nights at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.