Sean Hannity tells viewers to take Covid seriously – in viral video viewed more than 4 million times

A video of Fox News host Sean Hannity pleading with viewers to “take coronavirus seriously” and admiring he believes in the “science of vaccination” has gone viral, with 4.1 million views on Twitter.

“Please take Covid seriously, I can’t say it enough. Enough people have died, we don’t need more deaths,” Mr Hannity told viewers on his Monday night show.

“Research like crazy, talk to your doctor, your doctors, medical professionals you trust based on your unique medical history, your current medical condition and you and your doctor make a very important decision for your own safety. Take it seriously.”

The host also said that it “makes sense for many Americans to get vaccinated,” baking up his co-host Steve Doocy who told people to “get the shot” on Monday’s Fox & Friends.

“I believe in science and I believe in the science of vaccination,” continued Mr Hannity in his viral video clip.

However, his comments were sandwiched in between a critique of a university that mandated coronavirus vaccines and a piece on vaccine side-effects.

Fox News has previously been criticised for its unclear messaging on vaccines. In May, Mr Hannity refused to say whether he had been vaccinated. “Do your studying, know your science, if we can even say we have science involved in any of this. They’ve gotten so much wrong – the great Dr Fauci has been wrong so often … I’m not anti-vaccine, but I’m also a believer in medical privacy.”

On Monday night, host Tucker Carlson said there are “a lot of people giving you medical advice on television and you should ignore them.”

Meanwhile, last week host Laura Ingraham described Covid-19 vaccines as “experimental” on her show The Ingraham Angle.

On 9 March 2020, Mr Hannity implied that coronavirus was a hoax: “I don’t like the way we are scaring people unnecessarily,” he said.

“This scaring the living hell out of people – I see it, again, as like, let’s bludgeon Trump with this new hoax.”

Mr Hannity appeared to double down on Monday’s message on Twitter, re-tweeting a clip of his footage. “I have been saying this repeatedly on radio and TV exactly the same way for some time. Like I supported masks early on,” he wrote.

“What I won’t do is tell people what to do as I am NOT a Dr and I believe this decision must be made based on science, research, medical history.”

Twitter users are not convinced about Fox New’s messaging on Covid precautions.

“Fox News waited 16 months, while 600,000 Americans were killed and 35 million infected, before they finally decided to encourage their viewers to ‘take Covid seriously’ and ‘believe in science,’” wrote Keith Boykin on Twitter.

“I smell the faint scent of a potential lawsuit against Hannity for spreading false info. It’s the only reason for him to back-peddle his former Covid denials,” said another user on Mr Hannity’s latest stance.

According to Johns Hopkins, 609,000 people have died in the US after contracting coronavirus and 34 million people have contracted the disease. More than 337 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine have been administered to date.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has stated that its approved coronavirus vaccines are “safe and effective” and everyone over the age of 12 is entitled to get a Covid-19 jab for free. It has also dispelled myths and misnomers about the vaccination including the falsehoods that it can change DNA, affects fertility, and is a live virus shot.

The Independent has contacted Fox News for comment.