Dr. Oz walks back call to reopen schools in Fox News segment
Dr. Mehmet Oz, the celebrity talk show host who has advised President Donald Trump, said Thursday that he “misspoke” in remarks made on Fox News about opening schools despite the risk of losing lives to the pandemic.
“I’ve realized my comments on risks around schools have confused and upset people, which was never my intention,” Oz said in a Twitter video. “I misspoke.”
On Fox News on Tuesday, Oz, a guest on the network, said the idea of reopening schools was “an appetizing opportunity” in light of an article in a journal “arguing that the opening of schools may only cost us 2 to 3% in terms of total mortality.”
“We need our mojo back,” he told Fox News host Sean Hannity. “Let’s start with things that are really critical to the nation where we think we might be able to open without getting into a lot of trouble. I tell you, schools are a very appetizing opportunity.”
“I just saw a nice piece in The Lancet arguing that the opening of schools may only cost us 2 to 3% in terms of total mortality. You know, that’s any life is a life lost, but to get every child back into a school where they’re safely being educated, being fed, and making the most out of their lives, with the theoretical risk on the backside, it might be a trade-off some folks would consider.”
The article he cited appeared to be an April 6 review in The Lancet, a medical journal, that said studies had shown school closures alone would prevent only 2% to 4% of deaths from the coronavirus.
The comments reignited criticism of Oz, who has been accused by other doctors of promoting questionable treatments and cures for financial gain.
In 2014, BMJ, a medicaluaries & Inpomo that “no evidence could be found” for about a third of the recommendations that Oz had made on “The Dr. Oz Show.”
He has defended himself, “I bring the public information that will help them on their path to be their best selves. We provide multiple points of view, including mine which is offered without conflict of interest. That doesn’t sit well with certain agendas which distort the facts.”