tucker carlson vaccine
Fox News opinion host Tucker Carlson.
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  • Fox News will not confirm or deny whether its top-rated host has taken the COVID-19 vaccine.
  • Tucker Carlson has attacked public health experts and questioned vaccine efficacy.
  • Other prominent conservatives have gotten their jabs off-camera, while some on Fox touted it.
  • See more stories on Insider's business page.

For all of Fox News opinion host Tucker Carlson's opinions and misleading statements about COVID-19 vaccines, his own decision on taking the shot remains a mystery.

Insider has reached out to Fox News on multiple occasions to see whether Carlson has taken the vaccine – or if he ever plans to – but the network has not responded with a statement.

Carlson is in a unique position with an immense influence over millions of conservatives, effectively becoming the face of both the network's primetime lineup and nascent streaming strategy.

White Republicans – a substantial portion of Carlson's and Fox News' audience – are the demographic with the most vaccine hesitancy in the United States.

President Donald Trump received his COVID-19 vaccine in private and off camera, while other Republicans have taken the shot publicly to assure voters that it's safe after extensive trials on tens of thousands of people.

Rupert Murdoch, the Fox News founder and executive chairman of News Corp, privately took the vaccine back in December.

Many Trump supporters have expressed outright hostility toward the vaccine, as shown by backlash Ivanka Trump faced after posting her vaccine pictures on social media.

On Monday morning, the hosts of "Fox & Friends" said they took the vaccine and descibed it as a "relief."

Amid these mixed messages across conservative media, Carlson has staked out territory on the most vaccine skeptical end of the spectrum.

Just last week, Carlson baselessly attacked the vaccine by providing false and misleading data on thousands of Americans dying after taking the shot.

His consistent undermining of public health experts - whom he tells his audience should not be trusted - recently brought a CNN doctor to demand Carlson be transparent with his viewers and tell them whether he's gotten the vaccine.

"Every night he has a million questions about this vaccine. Somehow, magically, he has no one on his show that can answer these questions - I'm willing to answer these questions," Dr. Jonathan Reiner said on Sunday after calling the primetime host a "saboteur."

"I have two questions for Tucker Carlson," he continued. "Number one, you have been vaccinated? Number two, why won't you tell your audience whether you have been vaccinated? I am tired of his nonsense."

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