CNN’s John King revealed Tuesday that he has multiple sclerosis. The revelation came while he was discussing vaccination and said he was eager to “help somebody else.”
“I’m going to share a secret I’ve never spoken before. I’m immunocompromised. I have multiple sclerosis. I’m grateful you’re all vaccinated,” he said to his panelists.
King, the network’s chief national correspondent who also hosts “Inside Politics,” went on, “I’m grateful my employer says all these amazing people who work on the floor who came in here for the last 18 months while we were doing this are vaccinated now that we have vaccines. I worry about taking it home to my 10-year-old son who can’t get the vaccine.”
He added he doesn’t like the government or his employer telling him what to do, but vaccine mandates are different.
“In this case it’s important,” he asserted.
CNN has had a vaccine mandate in place for its employees since late this summer. Three staffers were fired in August for coming to the office unvaccinated against COVID-19, according to an internal staff memo from network president Jeff Zucker reviewed by TheWrap.
“Thus far, we have left proof of vaccination to an honor system,” he wrote. “While we have asked for attestation to your status via Passcard, it has not been mandatory to produce a vaccine card. In the past week, we have been made aware of three employees who were coming to the office unvaccinated. All three have been terminated.”
Zucker went on at the time, “Let me be clear — we have a zero-tolerance policy on this. You need to be vaccinated to come to the office. And you need to be vaccinated to work in the field, with other employees, regardless of whether you enter an office or not. Period. We expect that in the weeks ahead, showing proof of vaccination may become a formal part of the WarnerMedia Passcard process. Regardless, our expectations remain in place.”