'I don't think anchors should be giving medical advice': Fox hosts have awkward on-air spat over vaccines

Fox News hosts had a relatively awkward on-air moment when they became embroiled in a heated debate about the COVID-19 vaccine.

On Thursday, August 5, Fox hosts Steve Doocy, Brian Kilmeade, and Ainsley Earhardt discussed the upcoming school year and the push for Americans to get vaccinated. While Doocy is in support of vaccination, Kilmeade and Earnhardt attempted to push back with a less-than-credible argument insisting people should see a doctor before taking the shot. However, according to Doocy, taking the shot appears to be a no-brainer that shouldn't require a doctor's visit to move forward.

Kilmeade and Earnhardt argued that, as hosts, they should not be giving medical advice. Not deterred, Doocy also noted that many viewers have tuned into the show for decades and actually value their opinion. In his opinion, viewers should take the vaccine.

The awkward debate led to various reactions on Twitter. While some Twitter users criticized Kilmeade and Earnhardt, others noted that vaccine requirements are nothing new for schools. "There are a lot of reasons to be mad at Kilmeade's disingenuous BS, but the fact is that, in ten seconds, we can find about a thousand (free) op-eds, videos, and social-media posts from competent doctors begging us to get the damn vaccine and explaining that it's safe," one Twitter user wrote.

Another user noted, "They don't think anchors should be giving medical advice but they had no problem with anchors spreading covid disinformation & vaccine disinformation."

Others took aim at Kilmeade. Since the host is vaccinated, some viewers found his remarks about the vaccine contradictory.

Despite Kilmeade and Earnhardt's arguments, there are a number of reasons why the vaccine has proven to be beneficial. As new variants of COVID continue to spread, a new Kaiser Family Foundation analysis shows: "Less than 1% of fully vaccinated people experience a breakthrough Covid-19 infection."