Conservative radio hosts across America are losing their lives for the cause. Over the past month alone, five talk radio personalities who were vocal COVID-19 deniers, anti-waxers or anti-masks, all died after contracting the virus. Most recently, WNDB’s Marc Bernier, a late radio theater host in Daytona, Florida, called himself “Mr. Anti-Vax” in December, assuring his listeners “I do not take it.” True to his word, Bernier was infected by COVID. 19 about three weeks ago, and his death was announced over the weekend by his radio station – which had awkwardly acknowledged his on-air “anti-vaccine” comment just before his death. (WNDB was contacted to clarify his COVID -19 security policies, but the station did not respond.)
While it may be assumed that some right-wing media figures are simply feeding into anti-wax madness to create outrage and judgments, the flood of recent deaths shows that for a number of them resistance to safe, effective vaccines and other efforts against pandemics is not just talk. Such radio campaigns against efforts to stop the pandemic come as Republican men, a large segment of the talk radio audience, have proven to be particularly resilient to being vaccinated.
On August 4, Newsmax filler host and longtime conservative Dick Farrel speaks of a “serious injury” from COVID-19 after spending the last weeks of his life claiming the vaccine is “Bogus Bull” [Shit], “Referring to the pandemic as a” SCAM DEMIC “and suggesting that the delta variant is an elaborate trick orchestrated by Anthony Fauci to keep Americans afraid for their lives. “Why take a wax promoted by people who lied [to you] all the time about masks where the virus came from and the death toll? He wrote in a Facebook post on July 3. When he contracted the virus, Farrel was suddenly unwilling to die for his past beliefs, as one of his close friends, Amy Leigh Hair, claimed that he encouraged her to get shot shortly before his death, saying that COVID-19 “is no joke and then he said: ‘I wish I had got [vaccinated]! ‘”
But instead of taking scientifically backed precautions in advance, Farrel chose to ask his Facebook followers if “hydroxychloroquine from Canada” is safe in early July after stating, “When a quarrel denies you access to HCQ [it’s] it’s clear they want you dead. “It seems that Farrel was convinced that masks and vaccines did not save democratic politicians – or ‘dummy craps’, as he called them – from COVID-19, but rather that they had access to hydroxychloroquine while banning others. to take it.In a statement to Post, a spokesman for Newsmax noted that Farrel “was a popular radio host in Florida and always a friend of Newsmax. We mourn his passing and hope that everyone can learn from his unnecessary death the importance of being vaccinated. ”
August 11, Tod Tucker, a pro-Trump radio programmer, died “after the onset of viral pneumonia due to COVID-19,” according to his employer. Tucker had previously mocked the idea of receiving the vaccine and allegedly wrote in a Facebook post in March: “Stop bragging that you got your COVID vaccine. What do you want us to say?” Congratulations lab rat ?! ‘ “Within days of Tucker’s death, religious radio host Jimmy DeYoung Sr. was hospitalized for COVID-19 and died not long after, according to the Daily Beast. In February, DeYoung told his listeners that the COVID-19 vaccine could” be a another form of government control of the people “during a segment on his show in which he and his guest re-emerged conspiracy theories about Pfizer using the vaccine to commit mass sterilization.
Nashville talk radio host and vaccine skeptic Phil Valentine reportedly expressed regret after being hospitalized with COVID-19. In a blog post, Valentine had advised those not in the “high-risk” demo not to get the vaccine, betting that his odds of dying from COVID-19 were “well below one percent.” But in late July, Valentine found himself in a “very serious condition suffering from COVID pneumonia” and suddenly reversed his stance on vaccines, according to his family members. “Phil wants his listeners to know that even though he’s never been an ‘anti-waxer’, he regrets not being a more powerful ‘pro-vaccine’,” his radio station 99.7 WTN divided in a statement. “[He] looks forward to being stronger able to go for that position as soon as he is back in the air, which we all hope will soon be. “On August 21, Valentin’s employer announced that he had passed away.
Interestingly, Cumulus Media, which owns the station Valentine worked for, quietly issued a vaccination mandate for the entire company less than two weeks after Valentin’s COVID-19 diagnosis caught national attention, according to RBR + TVBR. On August 11, Cumulus became CEO Mary Berner stated in a video message to all employees that everyone working at Cumulus Media’s corporate offices must be fully vaccinated by October 11th. However, it is unclear whether this mandate applies to the group’s local stations such as WTN. Berner has not discussed the mandate in public statements, and a Cumulus spokesman told RBR + TVBR last month that “The company does not comment” publicly. Neither Cumulus Media nor WTN responded to requests for comment regarding employee vaccine requirements.
In the weekend, Joe Rogan, another professional speaker who has suggested that his listeners, if they were young and healthy, should not be vaccinated, received COVID-19. Wednesday was hosted by podcasts The Joe Rogan experience on Spotify, shared an Instagram video detailing his experience, in which he admitted to turning to an unproven treatment regimen that the FDA and CDC have strongly advised against. “We immediately threw the kitchen sink on it. All kinds of medicine, “Rogan explained, not saying whether he was vaccinated or not.” Monoclonal antibodies, ivermectin, Z-Pak, prednisone, alt. And I also got a NAD drip and a vitamin drip. “Ivermectin, a drug commonly sold as a domestic animal worm, has ‘made some people very sick,'” the FDA warned recently in response to the wave of Americans using it in misleading attempts to treat COVID-19. “Human medical conditions with veterinary drugs can be very dangerous,” the agency continued. The drug may not work at all, or it may aggravate the disease and / or lead to serious, potentially life-threatening health complications. “In the spring, Rogan was reprimanded by Fauci for advising young people against getting the COVID-19 vaccine.” If you’re like 21 years old and you say to me, ‘Should I get vaccinated?’ I go ‘No’ , Rogan said in a section in April in his podcast: “If you’re a healthy person and you exercise all the time and you’re young and you eat well, I do not think you do not have to worry about this. ”
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