Yahoo News Fox News host Neil Cavuto ‘begs’ viewers to take Covid vaccine
Fox News host Neil Cavuto said he is “begging” viewers to “stop the politics” and get the Covid-19 vaccine in his first interview since testing positive for the virus last week.
Mr Cavuto, who is immunocompromised, told Fox News’ MediaBuzz on Sunday that he does “appreciate” that people don’t want to be told what to do but warned that “life is too short to be an ass”.
“Take the political speaking points and toss them for now,” he said.
“I’m begging you – toss them and think of what’s good, not only for yourself, but for those around you.”
Mr Cavuto is 63 and suffers from multiple sclerosis – a disease that damages the central nervous system and can make sufferers over the age of 60 more prone to severe cases of Covid-19.
He has also battled cancer in the past and underwent open heart surgery in 2016.
Mr Cavuto, who has worked for Fox for 25 years, revealed on Tuesday he had tested positive for Covid-19 despite being fully vaccinated.
In Sunday’s interview, he pleaded with viewers to take the shot.
“My God, stop the politics,” he said.
“Life is too short to be an ass. Life is way too short to be ignorant of the promise of something that is helping people worldwide.
“Stop the deaths, stop the suffering, please get vaccinated, please.”
Mr Cavuto said the fight against the pandemic is “not about left or right” but about protecting the most vulnerable.
“I feel very strongly,” he said.
“I know we live in this hyper-politicised age. When people get vaccinated, I know you know a lot of people say that’s a private decision.
“I get that, I appreciate that, but I’d like to urge people of all sorts, please get vaccinated.”
He added: “In the end, if you can get vaccinated and think of someone else and think of what that could mean to them and their survivability from something like this, we’ll all be better off.”
While he said he understands people are opposed to vaccine mandates, he urged that “we will all be better off” if everyone gets vaccinated.
“There are plenty of people working around you now, in all types of business environments, who are susceptible this sort of thing,” he said.
“You can help them out a lot, whatever your views on mandates, and I get that no one likes to be ordered to do things, but in the end if you can get vaccinated and think of someone else and think of what that could mean to them and their survivability from something like this, we will all be better off.”
When Mr Cavuto confirmed his diagnosis, he said that, because of his health issues, his chances of beating the virus would have been far slimmer if he wasn’t vaccinated.
“Had I not been vaccinated, and with all my medical issues, this would be a far more dire situation,” he said in a statement on Tuesday.
“It’s not, because I did and I’m surviving this because I did.
“I hope anyone and everyone gets that message loud and clear. Get vaccinated, for yourself and everyone around you.”
Fox News came under fire after it was initially silent about Mr Cavuto’s diagnosis and message in support of the vaccine.
On Wednesday’s Cavuto: Coast to Coast show, Mr Cavuto’s replacement David Asman did not address why the regular host was absent.
Mr Cavuto told MediaBuzz he expected to face a backlash over his comments from some of the network’s conservative viewers.
“I hear from a lot of people in ongoing nasty emails, ‘You’re a Never Trumper’, or you’re this or ‘We don’t trust you, we don’t believe a word you’re saying.’ And that’s just coming from my family,” he said.
Mr Cavuto’s stance on the vaccine comes in stark contrast to some of his colleagues at Fox News. Tucker Carlson has repeatedly pushed misinformation around the vaccine and railed against vaccine mandates. He has also repeatedly refused to say whether or not he has been vaccinated.
At Fox, employees are required to either be fully vaccinated or to take daily Covid-19 tests.
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