Sean Hannity is very annoyed that he got a lot of praise from the mainstream media for his tepid support of the COVID vaccine this week. So, he followed up by making a big point of telling people he has no idea whether they should get it and suddenly remembering he’s not a doctor.
Hannity correctly noted that much of the media overstated his pro-vaccine comments
From the July 22, 2021 Hannity show:
HANNITY: All right, now, a brief message from me to the mob in the media. I have no idea why, but it was only in the last week, my coverage of coronavirus, COVID-19, got the attention of the liberal press and their attempts to paint this great network of ours, which has varying opinions -- which is actually fair and balanced –- to paint us as a dangerous anti-vax network. They watched this program and were shocked to discover what I said and what I had been saying for months and months and months.
"Business Insider" reports, quote, suddenly, Sean Hannity and other Fox hosts are urging their viewers to get COVID vaccines. Here's another headline, Sean Hannity basically begs his viewers to get vaccinated.
Another quote, "The View": Sonny Hostin calls Hannity's vaccination endorsement too little too late.
Hannity later played a series of clips that purported to show he has been consistent in his views on coronavirus (which radiologist Dr. Nicole Saphier validated). But the fact is that Hannity spent plenty of TV time downplaying the seriousness of the coronavirus. Media Matters put together a video showing Hannity doing just that. You can watch it below.
I agree with Hannity that the media exaggerated his vaccine endorsement of July 19. Looking back, even the headline of my skeptical post may have done the same thing. It read: “Hannity Tepidly Urges Vaccinations - Between Two Anti-Vax Segments.” Hannity specifically exhorted viewers to take COVID “seriously.” He said about vaccines, “And it absolutely makes sense for many Americans to get vaccinated. I believe in science, I believe in the science of vaccination.” Not really a full-throated recommendation.
I suspect the reason for the excitement from others was the fact that Hannity’s words came on the same day that other Fox hosts suddenly and more explicitly came out in support of the vaccine.
Hannity really, really doesn’t want anyone to think he’s too pro-vaccine
HANNITY: But I never told anyone to get a vaccine. I’ve been very clear. I am simply not qualified. I am not a medical doctor. I know nothing about your medical history or your current medical condition. I think it's inappropriate for me to do so. Instead, for over a year now, I have been warning my viewers, you make my career possible. I want every American, liberal, conservative, Republican, Democrat, I want you to be healthy. I have seen the worst of this virus and people that I love and care about, and to take COVID-19 seriously. And I’ve said it over and over and over again.
Media Matters caught Hannity making a similar “Don’t call me pro-vaccine!” pitch on his radio show earlier in the day. Media Matters also noted that Hannity’s fear about being seen as too pro-vaccine seems to have been triggered by criticism from a far-right radio host and Sandy Hook truther claiming Hannity is “skating on very thin ice with his supporters” because he is “very passionate about people taking the vaccine and he's pushing it a lot on his show."
It's a good thing Hannity remembers he’s not a medical doctor now but he has a long history of acting otherwise
As you can see in the second video below, the one in which Hannity downplayed the virus, he sure sounded like he was offering medical advice, and it didn't quite match his current "I always said to take COVID seriously" stance: “Unless you have an immune system that is compromised, and you are older, and you have other underlying health issues, you are not going to die, 99%, from this virus,” he said on March 9, 2020.
Just two days earlier, Hannity gave a thumbs up to a caller into his radio show who had decided against getting the COVID vaccine, against his doctor’s advice: “You believe in science, you believe in the science of vaccinations, but for the time being, it's not the right time for you to get the vaccine.”
Hannity has made more specific medical pronouncements in the past. As I wrote in my post about that call:
You may recall he wrongly “diagnosed” Hillary Clinton as having had a “cerebral venal thrombosis;” pronounced it time to re-open parts of the country last April (with the proviso that there would need to be “some changes moving forward, especially to avoid a rebound), declared Joe Biden not up to the job of president; and, upended the deaths-with-peace-and-dignity of 55 hospice patients in order to conduct a dishonest media circus designed to prevent the husband of braindead Terri Schiavo, another hospice patient at the facility, from removing her feeding tube.
You can watch Hannity try to make sure nobody thinks he’s too pro-vaccine below from the July 22, 2021 Hannity, via Media Matters. Underneath is the mashup video showing Hannity more concerned that viewers will take COVID-19 too seriously than not seriously enough.
Although Fox(not)News has won many court cases on the grounds that nobody in their right mind would take their hosts seriously, the foxies may be realising that a lot of their viewers actually do take them seriously. And that more and more of them are winding up in the hospital/cemetery.