FOX News host Tucker Carlson has questioned whether coronavirus vaccines work and asked why fully vaccinated people cannot return to being maskless in public – despite public health officials, experts and drug manufacturers regularly providing clarity on these topics.
Ahead of Carlson’s show on Tuesday, Moderna released new data that shows its COVID vaccine is more than 90 percent effective six months after the required dose.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, those who have been fully vaccinated should still continue to take precautions, such as wearing a mask, staying six feet apart, and avoiding crowds and poorly ventilated spaces.
Infectious disease specialist Kristin Englund, MD., previously explained that getting vaccinated does not immediately mean going back to life as we knew it, as the vaccine is another level of protection against COVID-19 until a level of herd immunity is built up in society.
In order for herd immunity to be reached, 50 to 80 percent of the population would need to be vaccinated, Englund said.
But Carlson, speaking on Tuesday night’s show, had another potential explanation for why people are being encouraged to keep wearing masks after being fully vaccinated: perhaps vaccines don’t work.
‘MAYBE IT DOESN’T WORK’
Carlson, who cited a Yahoo! News article on vaccinated people having to continue wearing masks, said: “No-one’s asking this, but everyone should be: ‘What is this about?’ If vaccines work, why are vaccinated people still banned from living normal lives?
“Honestly, what’s the answer to that? It doesn’t make any sense at all.
“If the vaccine is effective, there is no reason for people who have received the vaccine to wear masks or avoid physical contact.
“So maybe it doesn’t work and they’re simply not telling you that. Well, you hate to think that – especially if you’ve gotten two shots. But what’s the other potential explanation? We can’t think of one.”
The show then cut to a clip of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau telling parliament that his country work from facts and the science around things.
Carlson then said, “So, the leader of Canada, our closest ally, just explained on television that, according to the science, the vaccine doesn’t stop COVID.
“Well, if that’s true, then why are they pushing everyone to get the vaccine? It’s really one or the other. Either the coronavirus shot works, or it doesn’t.”
According to The New York Times, 37 percent of Americans have currently received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, while 23 percent are considered fully vaccinated.
In December, Pfizer and BioNTech announced their vaccine had an efficacy rate of 95 percent, and Moderna put the figure for its vaccine at 94.5 percent.
On Tuesday, federal health agencies called for an immediate pause in use of Johnson & Johnson’s coronavirus vaccine after six women from more than seven million people who have received the company’s vaccine in the United States developed rare blood clots.
