Since the covid-19 vaccine had been founded, Right wing commentators such as Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck have been urging viewers to avoid taking the vaccine, despite the fact that the death rate has been practically inexistent. However, this past Monday, Hannity was quoted saying “We believe the science of vaccines so take this virus seriously”. What caused this change of opinion?

Newspaper sources such as The New York Times and Business Insider have ran articles regarding the validity of the vaccine and that “[Right Wing Commentators] statements are against public health advice on vaccines”. According to the CDC, the probability of receiving the virus after the vaccination is under 5% and, if one were to test positive for the virus, the symptoms would be “quite mild”. Moreover, the infection rate of COVID is over 5 times lower in vaccinated states than non vaccinated states.

Furthermore, other sources such as CNN and The Daily Beast have criticized said commentators, especially Tucker Carlson, for attacking vaccine passports and saying that these outlets are “poison for America” as they have caused unnecessary deaths. Carlson, however, refuses to change his opinion on the vaccines.

“Just like we’ve been saying, please take COVID seriously,” says Hannity. “I can’t say it enough. Enough people have died. We don’t need any more death. Take it seriously. You also have a right to medical privacy and doctor-patient confidentiality is also important. “And it absolutely makes sense for many Americans to get vaccinated. I believe in science, I believe in the science of vaccination.”