WASHINGTON — Fox News Channel anchor Neil Cavuto returned to the air Monday after a five week absence, revealing to his audience that he had been hospitalized with COVID-19.
"I did get COVID again, but a far far more serious strand, what doctors call COVID pneumonia. It landed me in intensive care for quite a while and it really was touch and go," Cavuto explained during his first appearance on his show since Jan. 10.
Cavuto, who had open-heart surgery in 2016 and was treated for cancer in the 1980s, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1997.
He explained Monday that because he's immunocompromised he's "among the vulnerable 3% or so of the population that can't sustain the full benefits of a vaccine."
"But let me be clear, doctors say that had I not been vaccinated at all, I wouldn't be here," Cavuto stated.
He went on to add that it was a "scary" situation, but he wasn't there to "debate vaccinations for you. Just offer an explanation for me."
Cavuto had also tested positive for COVID-19 back in October, saying at the time he was told it would've been a "far more dire situation" had he not been vaccinated. The journalist then encouraged others to get vaccinated.
Average daily COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are continuing to fall in the U.S., an indicator that the omicron variant’s hold is weakening across the country. Total confirmed cases reported Saturday barely exceeded 100,000, a sharp downturn from around 800,850 on Jan. 16, according to Johns Hopkins University data.