News Corp Chairman Rupert Murdoch receives COVID-19 vaccine in UK
News Corp executive chairman Rupert Murdoch has received the COVID-19 vaccine in the United Kingdom, a spokesperson said Friday.
The 89-year-old media mogul qualified for eligibility for the first round of vaccinations, The Guardian reported, citing a statement from a News Corp representative.
“I would like to thank the keyworkers and the [U.K. National Health Service] staff who have worked so hard throughout the pandemic, and the amazing scientists who have made this vaccine possible. I strongly encourage people around the world to get the vaccine as it becomes available,” said Murdoch.
Murdoch reportedly arrived at a vaccine center in Henley, Oxfordshire, late Wednesday. The facility was also reportedly extending its operational hours for Murdoch’s arrival and vaccination appointment.
Anyone age 80 or older is considered in second-tier priority for the vaccine, next to front-line health and social care workers. Residents in assisted living homes and their caretakers are the first priority.
The Australian-born U.S. citizen largely spent much of the year in isolation at his home near Henley along with his wife, Jerry Hall Murdoch, The Guardian reported.
The billionaire media mogul’s comments speaking highly of the vaccination efforts marked a contrast with some other figures tied to his companies.
On his show Thursday night, for instance, Fox News host Tucker Carlson used his opening monologue to take aim at the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, saying it “feels false” and “too slick.”
The conservative media host was quick to clarify that he and his network are supportive of vaccines and data showing inoculations save lives, but pushed back on social media companies cracking down on certain information about vaccines.
“None of this inspires confidence,” Carlson said. “Censorship will not convince a single person to take the coronavirus vaccine. In fact, it will have the opposite effect.”
Carlson’s monologue was partly inspired by a health care worker in Alaska who took the vaccine and experienced a rare severe allergic reaction following the shot, though the worker is reportedly doing well and has been released from the hospital following treatment.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 84.7 percent of vaccine recipients between the ages of 18 to 55 reported at least one local injection site reaction. The most frequently reported reaction was pain, redness or swelling at the injection site for at most two days after the vaccine was administered.