Sarah Palin Says She Hasn't Been Vaccinated Because She's Already Had COVID

Former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin revealed on Thursday that she has not been vaccinated against COVID-19 and highlighted immunity gained from previously having the disease.

Palin, who was the Republican governor of Alaska from 2006 to 2009, appeared on Fox News' Gutfeld! and discussed her vaccine status during a conversation about CNN host Don Lemon.

Greg Gutfeld asked Palin and his other guests about Lemon, who said it was "time to start shaming" unvaccinated people during a conversation with CNN host Chris Cuomo on Wednesday.

Palin said that she "personally" liked Lemon and that he had been nice to her in the past.

"But I am one of those white, common sense conservatives," Palin said. "I believe in science and I have not taken the shot."

"One, because the waitress never came back to ask me if I'm ready for that shot," she joked. "But two, because I do believe in science and the Fauci-ism of the day back then was, if you've had COVID—I've had COVID—well then, Mother Nature was creating an immunity."

It wasn't clear exactly which comments by Dr. Anthony Fauci Palin was referring to but the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) has repeatedly urged people to get vaccinated.

"And even today, you know, you're 27 percent more immune than..." Palin continued.

Dr. Drew Pinsky cut in: "Twenty-seven times."

"Yeah, OK, 27 times," Palin said. "So I want to ask the questions."

The figure mentioned by Palin and Pinsky comes from an Israeli study of 700,000 people that showed those who had previously been infected with COVID-19 were 27 times less likely to suffer a second symptomatic infection than people who were vaccinated.

Fauci addressed that study during an appearance on CNN on September 10, saying: "I don't have a really firm answer for you on that. That's something that we're going to have to discuss regarding the durability of the response."

He noted that it was possible those who had been infected might not enjoy protection from COVID-19 for as long as a vaccinated person and the study had not addressed that.

"I think that is something that we need to sit down and discuss seriously," Fauci said.

Palin revealed she had tested positive for COVID-19 in March and urged people to wear face masks in remarks to People magazine.

"I strongly encourage everyone to use common sense to avoid spreading this and every other virus out there," Palin said. "There are more viruses than there are stars in the sky, meaning we'll never avoid every source of illness or danger ... But please be vigilant, don't be frightened, and I advise reprioritizing some personal time and resources to ensure as healthy a lifestyle as you can create so when viruses do hit, you have at least some armor to fight it."