Fox News' Tucker Carlson says he 'skipped' getting vaccinated


Fox News host Tucker Carlson, after repeatedly declining to comment on his COVID-19 vaccine status, now says he is unvaccinated.
Carlson said as much while recently speaking to the Awaken Church, The Daily Beast reported. In leaked audio obtained by the outlet, the Tucker Carlson Tonight host dismisses the idea of getting a fourth dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and claims he personally has not even received an initial dose.
"Yeah, I don't think so," he says. "No, I skipped the first three, I'm not getting that one either."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Carlson's remarks received enthusiastic applause. According to The New York Times, Fox News required office workers in New York City to show proof they have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by the end of last year.
On his show, Carlson has been critical of COVID-19 vaccine mandates, and last April, Dr. Anthony Fauci criticized him for baselessly floating the idea that vaccines don't work. "Maybe it doesn't work and they're simply not telling you that," Carlson claimed.
When former Secretary of State Colin Powell died from COVID-19 complications last year despite being vaccinated, Carlson also suggested this proves Americans have been "lied to" about the vaccine, even though Powell was at high risk for COVID-19 due to undergoing cancer treatment.
But prior to this leaked audio, Carlson has avoided questions about whether he's vaccinated in multiple interviews. When asked by The New York Times if he got the vaccine, Carlson responded, "When was the last time you had sex with your wife and in what position? We can trade intimate details." And when asked the question by Time, he replied, "Do you have HIV? How about 'None of your business'?"
Per The Daily Beast, Carlson in the audio claims he's not "against vaccines" in general and has "had like a million of them."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
-
France and Indonesia promote a contentious bid for an Israel-Palestine two-state solution
Talking Points Both countries have said a two-state solution is the way to end the Middle East conflict
-
Film reviews: Mission: Impossible—The Final Reckoning, Lilo & Stitch, and Final Destination: Bloodlines
Feature Tom Cruise risks life and limb to entertain us, a young girl befriends a destructive alien, and death stalks a family that resets fate's toll.
-
Music reviews: Morgan Wallen and Kali Uchis
Feature "I'm the Problem" and "Sincerely"
-
RFK Jr. scraps Covid shots for pregnant women, kids
Speed Read The Health Secretary announced a policy change without informing CDC officials
-
New FDA chiefs limit Covid-19 shots to elderly, sick
speed read The FDA set stricter approval standards for booster shots
-
US overdose deaths plunged 27% last year
speed read Drug overdose still 'remains the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18-44,' said the CDC
-
Trump seeks to cut drug prices via executive order
speed read The president's order tells pharmaceutical companies to lower prescription drug prices, but it will likely be thrown out by the courts
-
RFK Jr. visits Texas as 2nd child dies from measles
Speed Read An outbreak of the vaccine-preventable disease continues to grow following a decade of no recorded US measles deaths
-
Shingles vaccine cuts dementia risk, study finds
Speed Read Getting vaccinated appears to significantly reduce the chances of developing Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia
-
Measles outbreak spreads, as does RFK Jr.'s influence
Speed Read The outbreak centered in Texas has grown to at least three states and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is promoting unproven treatments
-
RFK Jr. offers alternative remedies as measles spreads
Speed Read Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. makes unsupported claims about containing the spread as vaccine skepticism grows