Fox News anchor Neil Cavuto returns to show after ICU stint, second positive COVID-19 test

Viewers may recognize a familiar face during their Fox News telecast: Neil Cavuto.

After an extended absence on the broadcast, Cavuto revealed during Monday's show he was out after contracting COVID-19 for a second time, "but a far, far more serious strand … what doctors call COVID pneumonia."

"It landed me in intensive care for quite a while, and it really was touch-and-go. Some of you who’ve wanted to put me out of my misery darn near got what you wished for, so, sorry to disappoint you," said the Fox News anchor, who is fully vaccinated.

Cavuto shut down vaccine conspiracy theories, noting being vaccinated did not result in his illness, but rather it was his compromised immune system.

"Because I’ve had cancer and right now I have multiple sclerosis, I’m among the vulnerable three percenters or so of the population that cannot sustain the full benefits of a vaccine. In other words, it simply doesn’t last," Cavuto said. "But let me be clear, doctors say had I not been vaccinated at all, I wouldn’t be here. It provided some defense, but that is still better than no defense."

'I beg you': Fox News' Neil Cavuto urges people to put politics aside and get vaccine

The anchor also thanked his co-hosts for filling in during his time away and said Fox News didn't address his absence publicly because he asked them not to.

"They were honoring my wishes, out of respect for my privacy, even though they were getting a lot of heat trying to protect my privacy," Cavuto said. "I wasn’t really hiding anything. I just felt I wasn’t the story. The stories on this show were and are the story. It’s about you, it’s not about me."

Cavuto first tested positive for COVID-19 in October and urged viewers to get vaccinated.

While discussing the "hyper-politicized" nature of vaccines, Cavuto acknowledged that taking the jab a "private decision." However, he still implored viewers to get vaccinated to protect others at risk.

"Half the cases on the breakthrough front are among the immunocompromised, people like me who have had and have MS or prior heart situations or cancer," he said.

Cavuto faced cancer in the 1980s and underwent open heart surgery in 2016.

'Get vaccinated': Fox News' Neil Cavuto tests positive for COVID-19

Contributing: Jenna Ryu

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Neil Cavuto: Fox News anchor back after ICU stay, COVID-19 pneumonia