Guess which media outlet is incentivizing its employees to report their COVID-19 vaccination status? Fox News—and good for them.
The surprising development comes amid misinformation by network hosts Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham that have eroded confidence in those hesitant to get vaccinated.
Business Insider's Eliza Relman and Jake Lahut highlight the vast gulf between Fox News management and two of their biggest stars:
Carlson, Fox's top-rated host and the centerpiece of its growing streaming service, has compared vaccine passports to “Jim Crow” racial segregation laws and likened asking someone about their vaccination status to asking them whether they've been infected with HIV or what their favorite sex positions are.
“Medical Jim Crow has come to America,” Carlson claimed last month. “If we still had water fountains, the unvaccinated would have separate ones.”
Both the host and network will not say whether he's been vaccinated.
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Ingraham, a close ally of former President Donald Trump, has brought guests on who spread lies about the COVID-19 vaccines, including the falsehood that the shots aren't effective against the new, even more contagious Delta variant.
All Fox News employees recently received an email encouraging them to submit their COVID-19 vaccination status. Employees who provide their vaccine records aren't required to complete daily health screenings or wear masks. The email also explained how employee participation helps with determining procedures for shared workspaces.
With cases of the Delta variant still rising in some states, a new threat to the vaccine-hesitant elderly and immunocompromised has undeniably emerged.
We find ourselves in a situation where millions of Americans aren't getting vaccinated because they're concerned about rumored side effects or don't trust the government. The truth is that the approved COVID-19 vaccines went through the same rigorous testing as other vaccines. The Trump administration cut years off this process by pursuing public-private partnerships in Operation Warp Speed to deliver a “safe and effective vaccine.”
The vaccinated remain largely unaffected by the Delta variant, but it's possible that without mass vaccinations leading to herd immunity, COVID-19 could mutate again, undermining the vaccines' efficacy.
Specific Fox News hosts have undoubtedly contributed to the doubt some have for not trusting the vaccines created under Trump's watch. Their claims may boost their ratings—but they benefit no one else—as Fox News' COVID policy implies.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.
