NBC Doctor Who Said He Had COVID-19 Tests Negative for Antibodies

Colorized scanning electron micrograph of an apoptotic cell (red) heavily infected with CCP virus particles (yellow), isolated from a patient sample. Image captured at the NIAID Integrated Research Facility (IRF) in Fort Detrick, Md., published on April 2, 2020. (NIAID)

A doctor who appeared on NBC News for weeks claiming that he had contracted the CCP virus—likely through his eyes—has tested negative for antibodies after at least six negative tests for the virus.

Antibody tests can determine if people if they had a past infection with the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus. Antibodies are proteins that help fight off infections, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Dr. Joseph Fair, a virologist who works as an NBC science contributor, first appeared in the network on May 14 and said he had the novel virus from China.

“I had a mask on, I had gloves on, I did my normal wipes routine ... but obviously, you can still get it through your eyes. And, of course, I wasn’t wearing goggles on the flight,” Fair said in the appearance on the “Today” show from the hospital.

“That’s one of the three known routes of getting this infection that we just don’t pay a lot of attention to. We tend to pay attention to the nose and mouth, because that is the most common route. But you know, droplets landing on your eyes are just as infectious.”

Host Hoda Kotb said during the segment about the tests, “Every time it came back negative, but clearly you have it.” A negative test indicates the patient doesn’t have the virus.

Later that day, Fair said in another appearance that people should wear eye protection.

Descriptions of what illness Fair actually had shifted later.

On June 17, Fair changed his self-diagnosis from definite COVID-19 to a “possible COVID-19 related illness,” media watchdog Fourth Watch reported.

After at least six negative tests, Fair took to social media on July 7 to announce that his illness “remains an undiagnosed mystery as a recent antibody test was negative.”

Fair said he had a myriad of COVID-19 symptoms, was hospitalized in a ward along with other patients with the new disease, and treated for “COVID-related co-morbidities.”

He said he plans to take another antibody test.

Fair said he was humbled by what happened and hit back at his critics, writing: “I have absolutely nothing to hide. I got really sick, brought up my test results upfront, and reported the follow-up. A somewhat funny irony is that no one would have ever known I had any negative tests had I not reported them.”

Multiple stories and video segments featuring Fair on NBC and MSNBC’s websites still say he had the CCP virus, also known as the novel coronavirus, even though NBC has reported that Fair tested negative for antibodies.

NBC didn’t immediately respond to a request by The Epoch Times for comment.