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Just plain false: Fox News guest says 'no reason' to get vaccine as host claims hospitalizations 'way down'

David Badash
and
The New Civil Rights Movement
16 July 2021

Fox News is moving even further toward being fully anti-vaxx.

Tuesday night on the conservative channel's "Ingraham Angle" host Laura Ingraham booked Dr. Peter McCullough, who falsely told America, "There's no reason right now, no clinical reason to go get vaccinated."

That's just plain false, according to the CDC and credible medical professionals.

"Virtually all Covid-19 hospitalizations and deaths in United States are now occurring among unvaccinated individuals," White House coronavirus response coordinator Jeff Zients said last week. Almost no fully vaccinated patients have been admitted to hospitals.

Ingraham herself wrongly claimed – or creatively framed – her response.

"Deaths and hospitalizations in almost everywhere is down. Way down."

That too is just plain false – hospitalizations are up.

Just look at these headlines over the past 24 hours:

Spike in hospitalizations due to Delta variant underscores need for COVID-19 vaccination, experts say

Young, unvaccinated people are being hospitalized with Covid-19 as delta variant spreads, officials warn

Covid-19 cases are surging in 46 states. In one hot spot, hospitalized patients are younger than ever, doctor says

Notice she left out the rise in coronavirus cases. The daily average of coronavirus cases has more than doubled over the past two weeks, and hospitalizations are also on the rise.

Dr. McCullough on Wednesday wrongly claimed, "the Delta variant really is not responsive at all, or protected by the vaccines."

That is a curious construction. Vaccines protect people, not viruses. And vaccine manufacturers have said the current slate of US vaccines do protect against the Delta variant.

McCullough is a cardiologist and an affiliate professor at Texas A&M College of Medicine.

He also claims "42% of 90,000 Delta cases in the UK have been vaccinated."

NCRM could find nothing that accurately substantiates that claim.

The vaccine is well over 90% effective in preventing infection, but for those who are infected after being fully inoculated, symptoms are almost always mild and do not require hospitalization. The number of fully vaccinated Americans who have died from coronavirus is infinitesimally small.

The Associated Press late last month reported "only about 150 of the more than 18,000 COVID-19 deaths in May were in fully vaccinated people. That translates to about 0.8%, or five deaths per day on average."

Dr. McCullough acknowledges to Fox News viewers there will be a "mild rise" in coronavirus Delta variant cases for vaccinated people, says those cases are "easily treatable in high risk patients," but then says, falsely: "There's no reason right now, no clinical reason to go get vaccinated."

NCRM has reached out to Dr. McCullough but did not immediately receive a response.

Watch:

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