Conservative radio host Phil Valentine dies of COVID-19 disease

Conservative, vaccine-skeptical radio host, who said he would not get vaccinated because he had a “low risk” of contracting COVID-19 and dying from it, has died after being hospitalized for the virus, his employer said.

Phil Valentine’s death at the age of 61 was announced Saturday by Nashville SuperTalk radio station 99.7 WTN. The Tennessee-based talk radio host was first hospitalized in late July with the virus.

A statement from his family at the time of his hospitalization said his illness had made him doubt and regret the importance of vaccines and encouraged people to “go get the shot”.

“Phil would like his listeners to know that although he has never been an ‘anti-vaccine’, he regrets not being more vehement ‘Pro-Vaccine’, and looks forward to being able to defend this position more vigorously as soon as he is ‘anti-vaccine’. ‘he will be on the air again, which we all hope will be soon,’ his family said in a statement posted on Facebook by the radio station.

Valentine had expressed her skepticism about coronavirus vaccines and masks on her radio show and on social media, with one of her last tweets on July 15 questioning the safety of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

In December, he tweeted that people should do a “risk assessment” to find out if they should be vaccinated.

“I have a very low risk of A) contracting COVID and B) dying from it if I do. Why would I risk having a heart attack or paralysis if I get the vaccine? He posted.

He also recorded a Beatles parody song, “Vaxman,” which made fun of the vaccine.