Neil Cavuto has been with Fox News since it started in 1996 — and much to the chagrin of those who aren’t fans, he joked, he’s going to stick around a little longer.
The veteran host went on air Monday and told viewers he had just recovered from a “scary” battle with COVID pneumonia that landed him in hospital. He said that he felt an obligation to his audience to explain his absence.
“I did get COVID again, but a far far more serious strand,” the 63-year-old broadcaster said.
Cavuto also was infected by the virus in October. Unlike some of his colleagues at his right-wing cable channel, Cavuto, who is immunocompromised, advocated for COVID vaccinations. He has battled cancer and multiple sclerosis.
“It landed me in intensive care for quite a while and it really was touch and go,” he said. “Some of you who wanted to put me out of my misery darn near got what you wished for, so sorry to disappoint you,” he jokingly said.
He also said he wanted to address an absurd conspiracy theory that had been making the rounds.
“And no, the vaccine didn’t cause that,” Cavuto said. “That grassy knoll theory has come up a lot.”
Because of his medical history, he remains more vulnerable than people with a clean bill of health, Cavuto said.
“But let me be clear, doctors say had I not been vaccinated at all, I wouldn’t be here,” he said. “It provided some defense and that is still better than no defense.”
Deadline reports that Cavuto had been off air since Jan. 10. He thanked Fox News for keeping his condition a private matter and insisted he was not trying to hide anything.
“This was scary,” Cavuto admitted.
Fox News’ muddy reporting on the dangers of COVID and the importance of vaccines is well-documented. Media watchdog group Media Matters for America reported in October that the network had undermined the nation’s vaccination drive “nearly every day” over a six-month period.
In April 2020, journalism professors from across the country signed a letter urging Fox Corporation Chairman Rupert Murdoch to make sure “that the information you deliver is based on scientific facts.”
In April 2021, primetime conspiracy theorist Tucker Carlson got a “Pants on Fire” rating from fact-checking site Politifact after suggesting that “Maybe (the COVID-19 vaccine) doesn’t work, and they’re simply not telling you that.”
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