Jim Acosta Challenges Tucker Carlson to Reveal Vaccination Status: 'The Truth'
CNN host Jim Acosta called on Tucker Carlson to tell his viewers whether he has already had both COVID-19 vaccination shots as well as the booster.
Speaking to professor of medicine and surgery Dr. Jonathan Reiner on Sunday, Acosta accused Carlson of spreading "COVID nonsense."
Acosta said: "Let's just say a challenge to Tucker Carlson, as we are talking about this from yours truly and Dr. Reiner.
"Tucker Carlson, tell the American people if you have been double vaccinated and boosted, just come clean.
"Tell everybody if you have been boosted, we know the truth, we know you have been. But just tell us, tell everybody the truth, it is all we ask."
Acosta and Dr. Reiner also watched and reflected on a segment from Carlson's show on Friday. The Fox News host questioned whether Viagra could be a possible treatment for COVID-19.
Newsweek reported on this and explained Carlson was citing an anecdotal example as well as a study out of Chile when he posed this question.
Carlson was referring to British tabloids The Sun and the Daily Mail when he spoke about "the growing connections between Viagra and treatment of the coronavirus."
Both tabloids reported the story of a 37-year old nurse, Monica Almeida, in the U.K. who was on the verge of death and in a coma after contracting COVID-19 before she was given an experimental treatment that included a large dose of Viagra.
After the treatment, Almeida recovered and credited Viagra for saving her life. Almeida told The Sun that the two vaccines she received were also key to saving her life. She remarked that she would have died had she not been vaccinated.
Regarding Tucker's comments, Acosta insisted the Fox News show should come with a "Surgeon General's Warning for disinformation."
Dr. Reiner also attacked Carlson for his show and the questions it poses against vaccines being able to prevent coronavirus.
He said: "Here is the thing, that show has propagated myth and fallacy and the phrase you have sometimes used on the show, that starts with bull, repeatedly.
"What they have not done is told their audience what we know works to prevent mortality in this country, which is simply to vaccinate people.
"They have promoted ivermectin, they have promoted hydroxychloroquine, now they are promoting Viagra.
"It is the king of anecdotes not the king of data. I challenge Mr. Carlson, why don't you have a legitimate expert on your show to discuss some of these fringe, whack-job opinions that you seem to spout nightly."
Dr. Reiner also addressed the manner in which Carlson speaks when he talks about COVID-19 on his show.
He said: "He does it in a very sort of cynical way. He doesn't say necessarily that vaccines are bad, he says 'what do we know about the safety of vaccines?'
"Or he won't necessarily promote Viagra but he says 'wow there is a report in London that Viagra might work.'
"Magically there is no one ever available to basically vet these comments, it has become the repository of nonsense."
Newsweek has contacted CNN and Fox News for comment.
