Fox News is worried about lawsuits, and rightly so. They should be very concerned about the possibility of causing people to die or minimize the threat of the coronavirus.
At the same time, they have the need to bow before Dear Leader, no matter what nonsense he's selling to his cult, including drugs that haven't been proven to be effective with COVID-19.
So they hedge, like they did in the video above.
Transcript via Media Matters:
DR. WILLIAM HASELTINE (PRESIDENT, ACCESS HEALTH INTERNATIONAL): Well, thank you for the question, Dana. It's sad, to me, that people are promoting that drug. We know already, from studies, at best it will have a very mild effect — at very best. There are studies that conflict a little bit, one from the other. One concludes it has no effect, the other concludes it has a mild effect. The net result is, whatever effect it has, it will be very mild. That drug has been used for years against many other viruses — to no effect. The thing that makes me sad about that story is some people may take it who are on other medications, who have other underlying conditions, and may have very serious, even life-threatening, consequences. It is not something to take unless a doctor prescribes it.
PERINO: And the government is not saying that a doctor could not prescribe it, but that should be something that is worked out between them. And what about the — and I know you don't go by anecdotal evidence, but there are stories of people saying that they've had this Lazarus effect by using this drug.
HASELTINE: That is nonsense, complete and utter nonsense. And in any situation, there are always going to be people who promote one kind of quack cure or another. And there are Lazarus effects. In every epidemic I've ever looked at, it's always the case. Let me just repeat, we know that at very best, this drug will have a very mild effect on changing the course of the disease, if it has any effect at all. That is what the data has shown so far, and I am convinced that that's what further studies will show. And it's not without adverse consequence. It is irresponsible to promote this drug at this time.
PERINO: I hear you loud and clear.
HASELTINE: I know that isn’t the message that people want to hear. People don't want to hear that, but it is unfortunately the case.
If only Donald Trump had done the things that might have made a difference, like taking the possibility of a pandemic seriously from the start.
