Conservative radio host regrets hesitation over COVID vaccine

NASHVILLE, Tennessee – A conservative talk radio host from Tennessee who was skeptical of vaccines until he was hospitalized with COVID-19 now says his listeners should get vaccinated.

Phil Valentine’s brother Mark Valentine spoke at length on WWTN-FM in Nashville Thursday about his brother’s condition, saying he was in an intensive care unit on supplemental oxygen, but not on a ventilator. Phil Valentine has had an afternoon radio show on the station for years.

“First of all, he regrets not having been a more vocal advocate for immunization,” Mark Valentine said of his brother. “For those who are listening, I know if he was able to tell you, he would say, ‘Go get the vaccine. Stop worrying about politics. Stop worrying about all the conspiracy theories. ‘”

Mark Valentine objected to the idea that Phil Valentine was anti-vaccination, calling him “pro-information” and “pro-choice” on the vaccine, but adding: “he was wrong on this one “.

After Phil Valentine tested positive for COVID-19 but before his hospitalization, he told his listeners to consider, “If I get this COVID thing, do I have a chance of dying from it?” If so, he advised them to get the vaccine. He said he made the decision not to get the shot because he thought he probably wouldn’t die.

Phil Valentine also said he was “taking vitamin D like crazy” and found a doctor who agreed to prescribe ivermectin, a drug used to treat parasites in animals. The United States Food and Drug Administration warns against taking ivermectin for COVID-19, saying it is not an antiviral drug and can be dangerous.

Mark Valentine said he got the COVID-19 vaccine after his brother fell ill. Realizing that he has a family for which he is responsible, he declared that not getting the vaccine “is just a selfish position to have, and, in the absence of any concrete evidence to the contrary in terms of side effects and d ‘negative effects of the vaccine, I have a duty to do that. “

Mark Valentine’s comments came on the same day that Republican Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee defended his administration’s sacking of the state’s immunization chief and the cancellation of childhood vaccine awareness, all of which have two triggered a national review of Tennessee’s vaccination efforts against COVID-19.

Former state vaccine chief Michelle Fiscus has repeatedly said she was fired to appease some GOP lawmakers who were outraged by the state’s awareness of COVID-19 vaccinations among minors . Some lawmakers have even threatened to dissolve the health ministry because of the commercialization.

Tennessee continues to have some of the lowest vaccination rates in the country even as cases increase. As of Thursday, 12,666 people in Tennessee had died from COVID-19.

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