A medical “expert” on Fox News has raised eyebrows after encouraging viewers to actively seek out and contract COVID-19.
Dr. Nicole Saphier made the claim during a segment opposite Fox News host Bill Hemmer on Wednesday (December 15). Hemmer had previously claimed the “virus is dying out” while discussing the Omicron variant of COVID-19. Research remains ongoing as to the transmissibility of the variant, and if it causes more severe symptoms.
“When the virus mutates and gets stronger, we might be in trouble,” Hemmer claimed. “But when the virus mutates and gets weaker, that’s a great sign.”
Saphier–a certified radiologist, not a virologist–downplayed the danger of COVID-19.
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“We should be able to move forward and allow for the fact that this virus is causing very mild illness in people who are vaccinated and younger populations and including those people who have become boosted,” Saphier said. “There will always be people who are vulnerable to this virus, just like every year we see people vulnerable to flu and other causes of pneumonia. But for the rest of society, it is time to move forward.”
She then encouraged unvaccinated viewers to contract the virus on purpose.
A Fox News segment suggested that unvaccinated people should get Covid-19.
Fox News host Bill Hemmer: "The virus is dying out."
Fox News medical contributor Nicole Saphier: "It's time to allow this mild infection to circulate."
(The CDC recommends vaccines for most people) pic.twitter.com/q9QGv5o95T
— David Edwards (@DavidEdwards) December 15, 2021
“At this point, it is time to move forward and allow this mild infection to circulate so we can continue that hybrid immunity, the combination of vaccine-induced and natural immunity, which has proven to be the most robust form of immunity that will continue to build that wall of protection,” Saphier recommended.
Saphier also made the claim without irony as Fox showed medical technicians in gas masks treating patients in quarantine.
For the record, every time an unvaccinated host contracts COVID-19, the virus mutates. Both the Omicron variant and Delta variant earlier this year resulted from infections in an unvaccinated population. Furthermore, data shows that the immunity offered by vaccines is much stronger and longer-lasting than the so-called “natural” immunity granted by infection, and avoids the risk of long-term complications from viral infection. The Center for Disease Control also recommends vaccination to anyone who has already contracted and recovered from the virus.
ptn2719
Incidentally the first omicron death has been confirmed in Britain, so there goes the belief that it might be milder…
BaltoSteve
It may still be milder. Unfortunately, nothing about any known underlying medical conditions for the deceased are being released. Did they already have a respiratory issue which was complicated by the virus? Were they immunocompromised? We just don’t know. Overall trends indicate that for easier transmissibility some virulence has been negated. Which is really interesting because we are seeing evolution at work in real time.
belugafan
First death of someone WITH Omicron, not FROM Omicron. Huge difference there. Many people die each day. Many of them will have incidental Omicron.
LeBlevsez
BaltoSteve – Transmissibility and severity are not zero-sum quantities. The next variant could be both easily transmissible and deadlier. And pay attention to my response to…
belugafan – The dying WITH not FROM Covid argument isn’t new. But if 1% of people die from Condition X, but 5% of people with Condition X and a Covid infection die, then 4% of those people died from Covid. This is how comorbidities work. As for Omicron, time will tell.
BaltoSteve
LeBlevsez, It appears you misunderstood what I was saying. I was not talking about upcoming variants, only about the omicron variant that is currently on the rise. Current trends of study of this particular variant indicate that some virulence has been traded for ease of transmission. And as I said, we don’t have enough information about the one fatality in the UK who was infected with the omicron variant.
Cam
Fox News is here to support the two things that are all it’s owner Rupert Murdoch cares about….White Supremacy and not paying his taxes.
FOX will do whatever it can to squeeze out enough Republican wins to keep those harmful policies in place for as long as possible.
Sqwoah
Does Queerty actually wants its readers to get more tendentious and ideologically monolithic?
joverit
Covid can’t kill their toothless uneducated cousin lovin’ viewers fast enough!
Mister P
The LGBTQ community and Queerty readers having similar political viewpoints is hardly a bad think squeakh.
Vince
Squeak is obviously looking for a more conservative site catering to homocons.
belugafan
She is right, what is wrong with you Queerty – you are publishing dangerous information. A milder Omicron is excellent news as it displaces the more dangerous Delta. Since it is more contagious as well this will allow more people to be infected with a mild illness and hopefully ensure the endemicity of this virus. She wants the end of the pandemic, which is something we should all be reaching for and this is the way.
Donston
She isn’t “right”. No one knows how the virus will mutate. Furthermore, if you adhere to that strategy, you have to make sure you deep your distance from older people and ill people, which many of these folks aren’t doing. And the biggest issue remains people refusing to get vaccinated.
Halfnhalf
Keep telling yourself that crap. My niece’s husband just died today of COVID,
Kangol2
@Halfnhalf, thanks for reminding us that people are still dying of Covid. I’ve lost one relative to it and know several who’ve suffered through severe bouts. It is anything but the “flu” or joke right-wingers are making it out to be. Also, the idea that one variant will crowd out another is absurd; the Delta variant is still out there and spreading, doing serious damage to people who are unvaccinated (visit upstate New York, or Utah, or Louisiana, etc.), so chancing it with another variant as if it’s somehow going to lead to herd immunity is beyond reckless and criminal. But then FoxNews’ owner and its puppet talking heads already know this.
cubcmh
It’s all out of context. They just published a report in the last day explaining how people can be infected with more than one strain, which increases the likelihood of a new variant, potentially deadlier. How do you prevent this? DON’T get infected – even with a milder strain.
Fahd
The medical community needs to do a better job of policing itself. A “certified radiologist” shouldn’t be giving public health opinions on broadcast media, even Fox news. Very irresponsible!
Mack
I really believe FOX News bullshitters wants more people to die just to make President Biden’s numbers to look bad. Lets be realistic all these BSers have been vaccinated but yet they’re encouraging people not to be vaccinated-why?
mcflyer54
If that is true then Fox News is forgetting that the deaths would 1) be depriving Fox of a viewer and 2) most likely be a Republican and denying the GOP a voter.
Vince
mcflyer54
So you believe Fox is doing this because they believe they’re doing the right thing? Lying for ratings is the only thing they know.
Jon in Canada
I’m perfectly OK with Fox wanting to make their viewers sick and die.
I mean, less GQP votes is always a good thing.
justyouandi
Vaccinated people still get Covid, and vaxxed people can carry it to others even if they don’t have Covid themselves. So it appears the only reason to be vaxxed is to add a level of protection for yourself. I’m fully jabbed but if someone chooses to not be, what business is that of mine? The only really good reasons to be vaccinated is if you have some underlying health condition or if you are over 65. Pretty much everyone else who gets the virus gets through it just fine.
Vince
I don’t think all those 800,000 people that have died were all old or sick before.
Heywood Jablowme
Hospital ICUs right now are getting slammed with unvaccinated Covid patients in their 40s and 50s.
You’re not wrong about the “underlying health condition” stuff but keep in mind how broad a category that is. For instance, OBESITY. That’s at least a quarter of American adults right there, and in the Trump states more like 40%. (Mississippi is usually the fattest state, with other Southern states close behind.) Diabetes. Asthma. You don’t get anti-Covid points for believing you don’t have an underlying health condition when you actually do.
Heywood Jablowme
“Does Fox News actually want its viewers to get sick?” If so, this is the first time I ever agreed with Fox News about anything since I also want its viewers to get sick.
Vince
Yeah, seems a winning strategy if you ask me. The world would be a better place without them.
cuteguy
I used to have such a crush on Bill Hemmer when he was on CNN way before he went over to that propaganda network and started spreading lies and hate. He such a bad example of a toxic closet case like Aaron Schmuck was
oaksong
The redneck trolls have turned gay, apparently. That could be the only reason for the level of stupidity in the comments.
The virus kills people. It will continue to do so. If you think it won’t, go ahead. Win a Darwin Award.
Mr. Stadnick
Let them eat cake. If people are that stupid to listen to a radiologist’s hackneyed advice they get what they deserve. Sadly these idiots also infect other people, people who didn’t fall for the misinformation and out right lies of FOX news and their ilk.
DarkZephyr
“There will always be people who are vulnerable to this virus, just like every year we see people vulnerable to flu and other causes of pneumonia. But for the rest of society, it is time to move forward.”
The flu doesn’t kill one in 61 unvaccinated people. Jesus Christ, I am so sick of them bringing up the flu as though that’s all COVID amounts to.