Fox News anchor Sean Hannity has urged his viewers to ‘take Covid seriously’ – but later insisted he is not a doctor and won’t ‘tell people what to do’.
During his show on Monday night, Hannity made a point of speaking directly to his audience regarding the coronavirus pandemic.
‘I can’t say it enough. Enough people have died. We don’t need any more death. Research like crazy. Talk to your doctor, your doctors, medical professionals you trust based on your unique medical history, your current medical condition, and you and your doctor make a very important decision for your own safety,’ he began.
‘Take it seriously. You also have a right to medical privacy, doctor-patient confidentiality is also important. And it absolutely makes sense for many Americans to get vaccinated. I believe in science, I believe in the science of vaccination,’ Hannity concluded.
Fox News presenter Sean Hannity told his audience to ‘take Covid seriously’
In an accompanying tweet, Hannity repeated his plea once again but would not go as far as to suggest people get vaccinated, noting that he was ‘NOT a doctor.’
‘I have been saying this repeatedly on radio and TV exactly the same way for some time. Like I supported masks early on. What I won’t do is tell people what to do as I am NOT a Dr and I believe this decision must be made based on science, research, medical history….’
His plea came in the middle of a segment about some universities deciding to mandate all students be vaccinated against the coronavirus when they return to campus next semester.
Hannity brought up the case of a student who had an underlying health condition that could be aggravated by the vaccine yet did not receive a medical exemption by the BYU Hawaii university she was attending.
annity made the direct plea to camera during a segment about vaccinations
Later Hannity repeated his plea in a tweet but would not go as far as to suggest people get vaccinated emphasizing that he was ‘NOT a doctor’
On social media, there were some skeptical responses as to why the influential host suddenly made the direct appeal.
‘Interesting, something changed today…it wasn’t an epiphany that he might be sickening and killing people, no…let’s see…the markets tanked today (Dow was down over 700) over fears of the COVID variant leading to another recession or even stagflation. Always FOLLOW THE MONEY,’ wrote one user online.
‘Finally. And he is to be commended for changing his tune. Yes, it’s late, but he’s going to save a lot of lives,’ wrote Moses Kagen.
‘Turns out killing your viewers might be bad business,’ tweeted Clue Heywood.
‘1.5 years and hundreds of thousands of needless deaths too late,’ posted one follower.
‘The stock market crashed over news of covid spikes. These clowns are losing money. So of course they change their tune now,’ surmized another tweet.
On social media, there were some skeptical responses as to why the influential host suddenly made the direct appeal.
Hannity’s plea came hours after White House Press secretary Jen Psaki said the Administration would ‘welcome’ a PSA from former President Donald Trump as the Indian Delta variant of COVID-19 ravages unvaccinated areas within the United States.
She didn’t enthusiastically endorse the idea, but was asked at the press briefing if President Joe Biden would consider calling Trump and enlisting his help in getting more Americans vaccinated against the coronavirus.
The press secretary reiterated that studies show that the ‘most trusted voices are local officials – doctors, medical experts, civic leaders, clergy from time to time.’
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said at Monday’s press briefing that the White House would ‘welcome’ a COVID-19 vaccine PSA featuring former President Donald Trump when asked if President Joe Biden would call Trump and ask
Psaki also said, ‘We don’t believe that requires an embroidered invitation to be a part of,’ when asked if President Joe Biden would reach out to former President Donald Trump and have him shoot a pro-COVID-19 vaccine PSA
She also noted that other ex-presidents had got involved.
‘We’ve seen almost every former president play a role in putting out a PSA, making sure people understood in the country that the vaccine is safe and effective,’ Psaki said.
In March, former Presidents Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama along with their spouses participated in a vaccination PSA.
Trump was the only living president not to participate.
‘We don’t believe that requires an embroidered invitation to be a part of,’ Psaki said of the effort.
‘But certainly any role of anyone who has a platform where they can provide information to the public that the vaccine is safe, it is effective, we don’t see this as a political issue, we certainly welcome that engagement,’ she added.
On Sunday, Trump released a statement mocking Biden for not being able to Americans vaccinated faster.
‘Joe Biden kept talking about how good of a job he’s doing on the distribution of the Vaccine that was developed by Operation Warp Speed or, quite simply, the Trump Administration. He’s not doing well at all,’ the statement read.
‘He’s way behind schedule, and people are refusing to take the Vaccine because they don’t trust his Administration, they don’t trust the Election results, and they certainly don’t trust the Fake News, which is refusing to tell the Truth,’ Trump continued.