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ESPN hosted Stephen A. Smith credits the Covid-19 mRNA vaccine for saving his life after he was diagnosed with double pneumonia on New Year’s Day.
The 54-year-old sports analyst has been vaccinated three times, but his vaccine status did not prevent him from becoming seriously ill and hospitalized.
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Smith returned to the set of ESPN’s “First Take” on Monday, telling viewers that his doctors said he would have died without the vaccine.
Smith says he thought he was dying after being hospitalized with a 103-degree fever and double pneumonia on Jan. 1. “It almost took me out.”
He described waking up at night soaked with sweat and “coughing violently.”
“I did not know if I would make it. They told me if I had not been vaccinated I would not be here. I was so bad.
The vaccine according to [my doctors] saved me, “he said.
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Smith noted that “everyone is different” and he mentioned that his sister, who is a smoker, had recovered from COVID in a few days.
“You assume you want a fever, maybe get a cough, get the massive headache – but you get over it,” he said. “In many cases, that was the case. In my case, it was completely different.”
While Smith was talking, he often coughed and cleared his throat. He assured his viewers that he had tested negative for COVID.
Smith urged viewers to get vaccinated and wear N95 or KN95 masks.
“I think the one thing to emphasize the importance of, no matter how you feel about the vaccine, is that mask is important,” he said.
“The reason the mask is so important is that you do not know how the next person is affected. How I am affected is different from how you are affected.”
Smith shared a photo of him receiving his first vaccine dose in March 2021, urging his fans to “think of your fellow human beings and not just yourself when it comes to this.”
Covid-19 is a new coronavirus that causes flu-like symptoms. People at risk of death include the elderly, immunocompromised, morbidly obese, people with pre-existing conditions and smokers (cigarettes or marijuana).
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