Fox News radio host on 100,000 coronavirus deaths: “I know some folks in the media want to use that as a cudgel for political blame”
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From the May 28, 2020, edition of Fox News’ Outnumbered
HARRIS FAULKNER (ANCHOR): The pandemic has claimed more than 100,000 American lives, in just four months since the first case of coronavirus was confirmed in the United States. This, as a new AP poll finds only about half of U.S. adults say they would get a coronavirus vaccine if one were to suddenly become available — 31% say they're not sure whether they'd get it, a fifth of respondents say they would not. I want to bring in Dr. Nicole Saphier, New York City physician and Fox News contributor. So you're talking with patients, Doctor, every day. What are they telling you are the reasons for why they would not get a vaccine, those who told you that?
DR. NICOLE SAPHIER (FOX NEWS MEDICAL CONTRIBUTOR): Well, Harris, President Trump, you know, he's initiated this Operation Warp Speed, which is the modern-day space race in the hunt for a vaccine for COVID-19. But the truth is that we can't trade safety for speed, and that is the biggest concern that people are having right now. They don't — they want to make sure that all the i's are being dotted and the t's are being crossed. They don't want any steps skipped that would potentially have a harmful vaccine, which is why these clinical trials are just so important. And the bottom line is, you're right, you don't want to rush it. The good news is, they're working on it, there are over a dozen vaccines in the works right now. But the reality is, we actually know what can slow the spread of this virus, and that's human behavior. So we're not going to wait for a vaccine to save the day. Those polls are not surprising to me, harris, because even though we have proven flu vaccines, less than 50% of American adults actually get the flu vaccine. So I would anticipate similar numbers with the COVID-19 vaccine, once one becomes available. But what I want to see is, I want to make sure that it's safe, I want to make sure that it works, and I want to make sure that it's a vaccine for our elderly. Because elderly sometimes actually have difficulty with certain vaccinations.
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FAULKNER: You know, Guy Benson, I want to get you in here, because I know you do a radio show every day, and coronavirus is one of those things that comes onto the landscape when we hit these milestones, and people have a very emotional reaction. What are you hearing from your listeners about getting the vaccine? And anything you want to ask the doctor?
GUY BENSON (FOX NEWS RADIO HOST): Well of course it's emotional, 100,000 people dead. I know some folks in the media want to use that as a cudgel for political blame. I just think we have to step back and look at what that number means. And it's horrifying, and hopefully things are getting better. My question for Dr. Saphier is this — I have a few friends who have gotten this disease. They've recovered, thank God, from the disease. And they have antibodies, they're taken that test. If you have antibodies in your system, if you're someone who has recovered from COVID-19, when there is a safe and effective vaccine — hopefully very soon — do those people need to get that vaccine, or are they immune?
SAPHIER: That's a great question, Guy, and one that a lot of people are thinking about. And right now, we still don't have proof that those antibodies confer long-term immunity, and we're not going to know that for a while. But the going theory would be that if they have the presence of antibodies now, that they would likely not need the vaccine, because the whole purpose of the vaccine is for the body to develop antibodies. So, no, I would say that they likely won't need a vaccine. But again, asked me again in a few months when we have a vaccine, and we have more information of whether or not those antibodies are any sort of immunity, short-term or long-term.