Surprise: Fox Hosts Are Following Strict COVID Protocols While Telling Viewers Masks and Vaccines Are Liberal Plots

Early on in the pandemic, the conservative media decided that following the advice of medical experts was for liberal commies, and that they‘d be damned if they were going to listen to a bunch of people trying to help them avoid illness and death. Thanks to these talking heads, a disturbing percentage of Americans have refused to get vaccinated or wear masks, even as the far more contagious delta variant rips through the country, disproportionately hospitalizing and killing those who’ve chosen not to get inoculated. In fact, between June 28 and August 8—as ICUs became overwhelmed and COVID cases among children in the U.S. jumped—Fox News’ anti-vaccination campaign got even worse; according to a report from Media Matters, the network aired 840 claims undermining or downplaying vaccinations, with hosts and guests suggesting the lifesaving immunizations were unnecessary, dangerous, a violation of personal freedom, and a plot by Democrats to win elections. Which is obviously a uniquely f–ked-up position to take considering vaccines have been proved to work and are our only hope of one day getting out of this nightmare. Also f–ked up? That Fox hosts obviously know this and are personally following COVID protocols off the air, but assume their viewers are stupid enough to buy that they’re all in this together.

Yes, while railing day in and day out about vaccination requirements being as bad as segregation and a violation of the Constitution, the network’s employees have been…complying with rules regarding vaccines.

Per CNN:

In a Tuesday memo updating staff on COVID-19 procedures, Fox News Media chief executive Suzanne Scott said that the company has “asked all employees—whether on site as part of our essential workforce or working remotely—to upload their vaccination status” into an internal database. “All employees must enter their status no later than today, August 17th, by close of business,” Scott wrote, bolding that particular sentence in her email, which was obtained by CNN Business, but first reported on by AdWeek.

Scott added that while masks remain optional for vaccinated employees, the company is “requiring employees to wear a mask in small, confined spaces with limited opportunities for social distancing and where there are multiple employees, including control rooms.”

Masks! Disclosing vaccination status! Sensible measures meant to keep people safe??

…the mandatory reporting of vaccine status flies in the face of the commentary from the network’s top stars.

Tucker Carlson has repeatedly suggested to reporters who ask him about his vaccination status that the question is akin to asking about their sex life. And Sean Hannity has repeatedly talked up “doctor-patient confidentiality.”

Fox quietly implemented its own version of a vaccine passport in June. The system allowed for employees to voluntarily self-report to Fox the dates their shots were administered and which vaccines were used. The company encouraged employees at the time to report their status, telling them that “providing this information to FOX will assist the company with space planning and contact tracing.” Employees who reported their status are allowed to bypass the otherwise required daily health screening.

Fox did not respond to CNN when asked about the discrepancy from their hosts’ claims on air and its own internal practices.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday night, Hannity had Florida governor Ron DeSantis—under whose stewardship Florida has become a COVID-infested hellhole—for a fact-free discussion about vaccines that included the claim that the shots are “not protecting many people,” when in fact they’re protecting 99.999% of them.

— How the U.S. Abandoned Women in Afghanistan
— Billionaire Leon Black Flew a Russian Model to Meet Jeffrey Epstein
— Inside the Fury and Fantasy of Donald Trump’s Florida
— How Rudy Giuliani Went From 9/11’s Hallowed Mayor to 2021’s Haunted Ghoul
— How One New Jersey Town Became a Magnet for the Media Elite
— Is Ron DeSantis’s Fox News Obsession Backfiring on Florida?
— Congress Will Soon Get Its Hands on Possible Evidence of Trump’s Many Alleged Crimes
— How the “Ground Zero Mosque” Meltdown Set the Table for Trump
— From the Archive: Into the Valley of Death
— Not a subscriber? Join Vanity Fair to receive full access to VF.com and the complete online archive now.