Sean Hannity took a feeble step in the right direction last night when he suggested his viewers get vaccinated but he hedged his right-wing-cred bets at the same time.

First, the good news:

HANNITY: Just like we've been saying, please take COVID seriously. I can’t say it enough. Enough people have died. We don't need any more death.

Research like crazy. Talk to your doctor, your doctors, medical professionals you trust based on your unique medical history, your current medical condition, and you and your doctor make a very important decision for your own safety. Take it seriously.

You also have a right to medical privacy, doctor-patient confidentiality is also important. And it absolutely makes sense for many Americans to get vaccinated. I believe in science, I believe in the science of vaccination. 

But here’s what Hannity said first:

HANNITY: Now, across the country, with the approval of Joe Biden, some colleges and university are mandating that students take the vaccine, regardless of even whether or not they had natural immunity, well, Cleveland Clinic says you don't need the vaccine if you have natural immunity. That means, in other words, you don't need any vaccine. Are we trusting the signs are we going by whatever they think at any given moment?

Anyway, there are people too, very rare cases, but they are out there, where people have serious underlying health conditions that can be aggravated by the vaccine. That's why it's important to research, talk to your doctor, your doctors, et cetera, and that you make the decision in conjunction with your doctor, research on your own that it is best for you. I don't know your medical history. I don't know your current medical condition.

After his vaccination endorsement, Hannity went harder on vaccine fear mongering and attacking public health requirements. He hosted a young woman for whom a COVID vaccine is, apparently, contraindicated. Yet, despite calling her one of the “rare exceptions,” Hannity did not highlight just how rare an exception she is nor how the risk of getting coronavirus is greater than the risk of a vaccine.

HANNITY: Now, there are rare exceptions. Tonight, for example, we are spotlighting a story surrounding a young when accepted to BYU Hawaii. This was her dream school, who tried to get and was refused a medical exemption because the condition despite her developing a serious medical condition after taking a vaccine in 2019, where she says she was paralyzed from the waist down for over a month before she eventually regained her ability to walk.

Here is how she describes that experience.

Hannity played a clip of incoming college freshman Olivia Sandor who was denied a medical exception by Brigham Young University Hawaii, because of that state's mandatory vaccination requirement. She said she has “come to terms” with not attending that school in the fall but “I don't think that this is something that should go on for generations to come.”

Also on hand was Fox’s medical contributor, Dr. Nicole Saphier. Not mentioned was that Saphier is a breast radiologist with no apparent credentials in infectious diseases. She is a Trumper, of course, the most important credential on Fox.

Sandor told us how she was previously diagnosed with Guillain-Barré Syndrome, an autoimmune disease that can be caused by vaccines. She said she had been paralyzed for months by it and that she and her doctors had concluded she should not get the COVID vaccine.

Hannity made a point of upping the fear mongering:

HANNITY: Paralyzed for months -- that's got to be frightening for anybody. Thank God you're better.

Radiologist Saphier did her part for the messaging. She said, “I would also be just as afraid of the viral infection,” as the vaccine. But when pushed by Hannity, radiologist Saphier not only agreed that Sandor shouldn’t get the vaccine but that Hawaii should change their public health rules:

HANNITY: Based on what you have, you're not her doctor, but based on what you hear, do you agree with her doctor's assessment off the top of your head? Nobody is holding you to it.

SAPHIER: Oh, sure. So, listen, I can tell you it's not one-size-fits-all when it comes to these vaccines. Guillain-Barré is associated more with the vector vaccines like Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca. As far as I know, there were no cases in the mRNA vaccines.

But that being said, I understand why she is not willing to get the vaccine at this point under the emergency use authorization. This is a terrifying illness that she had. She has gone this far without being infected with SARS-CoV-2, then she -- with freedom comes responsibility.

[…]

In terms of going to Hawaii, they need to be more flexible because when she is on that island, when they are proven through testing and through quarantining that she does not have the virus, she is not placing anyone else got risk. She is at risk, as someone who has suffered one of these consequences.

So, yeah, it’s better that Hannity kinda sorta urged people to get vaccinated than not but it’s not nearly enough. In fact, it looks more like Fox is trying to avoid another huge lawsuit than like any real concern for their viewers’ health.

Hey @seanhannity this is very little and very late. Say this every night this week and it’s a start. Get your buddies @TuckerCarlson and @IngrahamAngle to do the same. You’ve all contributed to so many deaths. https://t.co/Iwk2rKWvv5

— Dr. Rob Davidson #GetVaccinated (@DrRobDavidson) July 20, 2021