Vaccines are ‘personal decision,’ Hillsong Church founder says after SoCal congregation member Stephen Harmon refused to be shot and died of COVID

LOS ANGELES – The founder of the multinational Hillsong Church told CNN that COVID-19 vaccines are a “personal decision that each individual must make with the advice of medical professionals” after a faithful who publicly refused the inoculation died of complications of the disease.

Hillsong Church Global Senior Pastor Brian Houston announced the death of Stephen Harmon, who attended Hillsong in Los Angeles, on social media this week.

Harmon had said on social media that he would not receive the vaccine, even when battling COVID-19 in a hospital this month.

“Stephen was just a young man in his early 30s,” Houston wrote, announcing Harmon’s death on social media. “He was one of the most generous people I know and he had so much ahead of him.”

Houston expanded on her social media posts in a statement to CNN, saying that “any loss of life is a time to mourn and offer support to those in pain and therefore our heartfelt prayers go out to her family and those in need. liked “.

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“On any medical issue, we strongly encourage members of our church to follow the advice of their doctors,” Houston said, noting that the church is focused on spiritual well-being.

“Although many of our employees, leaders and congregations have already received the COVID-19 vaccine, we recognize that this is a personal decision that each individual must make with the advice of medical professionals,” says the Houston press release.

Hillsong Church, founded in Australia, has congregations around the world. Harmon attended Hillsong in downtown LA

CNN has solicited comments from the Harmon family but has not received a response.

Before saying he was infected with COVID-19, Harmon posted two messages on Twitter on June 3 in which he parodied Jay-Z’s “99 problems” words – saying he had 99 problems but “a vax “was not.

A little over a month later, Harmon developed pneumonia from a COVID-19 infection and was sitting on a hospital bed in a COVID ward, according to his Instagram posts.

He had been hospitalized with complications from COVID-19 since at least June 30, according to his social media posts. Throughout his hospitalizations, social media posts show Harmon kept in frequent contact with Houston.

Even in the hospital, Harmon was adamant that he would not get the vaccine, saying he was not “anti-vax” but was “a pro in the information”.

“I’m not against it, I’m just in no rush to get it,” he wrote in a July 8 Instagram post. “Ironically, as I continue to lie here (…) in my isolation room on the COVID ward, I am battling the virus and pneumonia.”

He added that he would not receive a vaccine even after he recovered.

“Biden’s door-to-door vaccine ‘investigators’ should really call themselves JaCOVID witnesses. #Keepmovingdork,” Harmon wrote the same day on Twitter.

On Friday, after the announcement of his death, Harmon’s Instagram account was made private.