"We know a lot about the upside of the vaccine. We've been completely in favor of vulnerable people taking vaccines," Carlson said Wednesday, May 5, during his show at Fox News. "(But) do you know anything about the downside?"

Thousands of deaths linked to COVID-19 vaccine

He asked his viewers if they know how many Americans have died after taking the COVID-19 vaccine.

The short answer is 4,178. That's according to the latest data posted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) from reports received by the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) as of Monday, May 3. (Related: Global pattern of vaccine injury, death and deception haunts humanity.)

Carlson noted that VAERS, which is managed by the CDC and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), has received a lot of criticisms over the years because it tends to undercount vaccine injuries. He related that a report submitted to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in 2010 concluded that "less than one percent of vaccine adverse events are reported" by the VAERS.

So the total number of deaths after getting the COVID-19 vaccine is likely higher than 4,178. "Perhaps vastly higher," Carlson said.

The Fox News pundit compared the reported figures to the other reported figures from other mass vaccination drives in the country. According to Carlson, more than 160 million Americans are getting influenza vaccines every flu season. He noted that "a relatively small number of people die after getting those shots."

There were 203 deaths being linked to the influenza vaccine in 2019, 119 in 2018 and 85 in 2017. They may have also been undercounted by VAERS, but the difference compared to COVID-19 vaccine deaths is too wide to just simply ignore.

"It's clear that what is happening now, for whatever reason, is not even close to normal. It's not even close to what we've seen in previous years with previous vaccines," Carlson said. "Most vaccines are not accused of killing large numbers of people."

Carlson conceded that it's hard not to get vaccinated in the U.S.

"We talk about vaccines constantly, not just on this show, but in this country. Joe Biden was on TV yesterday talking about vaccines. He wants you to get one. Everyone in authority wants you to get one," he said.

There's an enormous pressure to get vaccinated. Businesses are requiring their employees to get vaccinated before returning to work. Colleges and universities are mandating their students to get vaccinated if they want to study in person.

"If you haven't had your shot, you're under enormous pressure to get your shot. You understand that soon you may not be able to fly on commercial airplanes or go to work at the office or send your children to school if you don't have the shot."

Not everyone needs a COVID-19 vaccine

But not everyone needs a COVID-19 vaccine, according to Carlson.

"Not all Americans are at a similar risk of dying from COVID-19. Some are at relatively high risk: the old and the sick. They might want to get vaccinated, and most do. Some are at very low risk of dying: the young and the healthy. Others appear to be at essentially no risk at all: anyone who's had COVID and recovered. Virtually all of those people are immune," Carlson explained.

"Those last two categories – the young and healthy and the previously infected – may add up to hundreds of millions of people in this country."

According to Carlson, the White House and the official policymakers who are designing the vaccine rollout do not acknowledge that those categories even exist. That's why President Joe Biden wants 70 percent of all American adults – regardless of age, health condition and pre-existing antibodies – to get the COVID-19 vaccine by July 4.

Biden announced that goal on Tuesday, May 4, even as the pace of daily vaccinations slows – down to an average of 2.3 million reported vaccinations per day as of May 3 from a high of 3.4 million on April 13. The new vaccination target came exactly two months from Independence Day, a date the White House hopes will mark a turning point in the pandemic.

To administer tens of millions more vaccines in the next couple of months, Biden will direct thousands of local pharmacies to provide walk-in vaccinations to people without appointments. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will also support pop-up and mobile clinics.

The White House is also preparing to mobilize immediately if the FDA gives emergency use authorization to Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine for people aged 12 to 15. (Related: Fauci demands America use children as human guinea pigs for COVID vaccine experiments.)

"This might be acceptable if we could show conclusively that COVID-19 vaccines come with no risk, and if we truly understood the long-term effects of those vaccines," Carlson said. "But neither one of those things is true."

Carlson proceeded to mention some of the adverse events linked to COVID-19 vaccines.

Aside from the reported deaths, "many thousands of other people appear to have been injured after getting the vaccine," Carlson said.

He noted that VAERS recorded nearly 900 non-fatal heart attacks in people who just received the vaccine while approximately 2,700 people reported unexplained chest pain. COVID-19 vaccines, according to VAERS, appeared to have contributed to at least 8,000 hospitalizations.

"If American citizens are going to be forced to take this vaccine or any other medicine, they have an absolute right to know what the effects of it might be. And they have an absolute right to ask that question – without being silenced or censored or mocked," Carlson said.

Follow Immunization.news for more about the dangers of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Sources include:

CitizenFreePress.com

CDC.gov

CNBC.com