Fox News and Fox Business Network host Neil Cavuto returned to the air on Monday and revealed he had been in an intensive care unit while battling pneumonia and the coronavirus.
“I did get COVID again but a far, far more serious strand, what doctors call COVID pneumonia,” Cavuto said. “It landed me in intensive care for quite a while and it really was touch-and-go. Some of you who’ve wanted to put me out of my misery darn near got what you wished for! So, sorry to disappoint you!”
The host said his “very compromised immune system” caused him to contract the coronavirus more than once.
“Because I’ve had cancer and right now I have multiple sclerosis, I’m among the vulnerable 3 percenters or so of the population that cannot sustain the full benefits of a vaccine,” he said. “In other words, it simply doesn’t last.”
Cavuto first tested positive for the virus in October and implored his viewers on Fox News to get vaccinated.
“For god’s sake, think of the bigger picture here, get outside yourself and think about those you work with, those around you, think about keeping them safe,” he said at the time. “These breakthrough cases are overwhelmingly happening among immunocompromised individuals like myself.”
Cavuto said on Monday his doctors told him if he had not been vaccinated, he would not have survived multiple infections from the virus.
“It provided some defense, but that is still better than no defense. Maybe not great comfort for some of you. And frankly, not great comfort for me either!” he said. “No matter, I’m not here to debate vaccinations for you. Just offer an explanation for me. I owed you that. I didn’t want to become the story, but for many of you, I did.”