How Did ‘Unvaccinated’ Pete Hegseth Host from Fox News Studios Despite Vaccine Policy?

Pete Hegseth has been guest co-hosting Fox & Friends this week, live from the show’s “curvy couch” in its New York City studio. Normally, this would not be newsworthy, but it raises questions considering the company policy at Fox News that requires staffers to be vaccinated to work at their offices.

Hegseth is not vaccinated, which we know from a moment during Fox & Friends Sunday last November when co-host Rachel Campos Duffy revealed that both she and Hegseth are not vaccinated. Both contracted Covid-19 in the past and appear to have argued that their natural immunities keep them from spreading the virus. You can see that moment below:

A month after that moment, in late December of last year, as the Omicron variant was on the rise, Fox News updated its vaccination policy. In compliance with New York law, the network removed the test-out option for unvaccinated staffers. Now, according to company policy, anyone who enters their offices is required to show proof of at least one vaccination.

So how has Hegseth circumvented Fox’s own policies? A Fox News spokesperson declined to comment for this story, citing employee privacy. The New York guidelines do allow for medical and religious exemptions. The guidelines read:

People who have requested reasonable accommodations for medical or religious reasons. If a worker is granted a reasonable accommodation, businesses must record the basis for the accommodation and keep supporting documentation in accordance with the below guidance.

Ergo, one possible reason for how Hegseth was allowed on set, despite Fox’s own policy, is that he obtained a medical or religious exemption. The other reason is that he has finally been vaccinated.

It is difficult to imagine that Hegseth received a shot, given the curious tantrum thrown when asked by Mediaite’s own Aidan McLaughlin if he had been vaccinated.

To make matters even more interesting, Hegseth falsely claimed on Tuesday’s show that vaccinated people are just as likely to spread Covid as the unvaccinated. “Everybody can give it now because even vaccinated folks are spreading covid,” Hegseth claimed, before noting they are “just as likely” to do so. (Watch that above.)

While vaccinated individuals can transmit the virus, they also get infected at a far lower rate than the unvaccinated. Hegseth’s misunderstanding of the effectiveness of the vaccines could be one reason why he has remained unvaccinated. And sharing that false information with Fox’s millions of viewers certainly doesn’t help encourage them to get vaccinated.