Phil Valentine, a conservative radio talk show host who was skeptical of the vaccine and did not agree with the mask’s warrants until he was diagnosed with COVID-19 last month, has died at the age of 61.
“We are saddened to report that our friend and friend Phil Valentine is dead,” said his station, SuperTalk 99.7 WTN, he tweeted Saturday afternoon. “Please keep the Valentine family in your thoughts and prayers.”
Valentine, whose program began airing in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1995 and eventually syndicated in several cities across the country, confirmed that he was diagnosed with coronavirus on July 11 in a Facebook post, according to the subsidiary of CBS WTVF-TV.
“Yes, the rumors are true,” he wrote on Facebook. “I have COVID. Unfortunately, haters seem to get it.”
He described the illness as an “interesting experience” and said it would fill listeners when it aired again. “I hope it’s tomorrow, but maybe I’ll take a day off as a precaution. It will be a decision about game time,” he wrote.
A few weeks later, the radio station shared an update on its Valentine family Facebook page, which said her condition had worsened.
“Phil contracted the Covid virus a little over a week ago and has since been hospitalized and is in a very serious condition, suffering from Covid pneumonia and side effects,” the message said. “He’s in the critical care unit hospital breathing with help, but he’s NOT on a ventilator. We’ll ask everyone to refrain from contacting him while he’s in the hospital.”
The post concluded with his family instant to people to get vaccinated: “Please keep praying for your recovery and PLEASE VACCINE YOURSELF!”
Valentine’s brother Mark Valentine also spoke on the radio after his brother’s condition began to deteriorate, saying Valentine was “sorry he wasn’t a more vocal advocate of vaccination,” according to AP. “For those who listen, I know that if I were able to tell you this, I would say,‘ You’re going to get vaccinated. Stop worrying about politics. Stop worrying about all the conspiracy theories. ”
Prior to her diagnosis, Valentine expressed skepticism about coronavirus vaccines.
In December 2020, he tweeted: “I have a very low risk of A) having COVID and B) of dying if I do. Why would I risk having a heart attack or paralysis in get the vaccine? “
He also recorded a parody song titled “Vaxman,” which mocked the vaccine, according to WTVF.
Before he was hospitalized, Valentine told the radio that he “took vitamin D like crazy” and that a doctor agreed to prescribe him an antiparasitic drug called ivermectin, according to the Associated Press. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has said it should not take medication to treat or prevent COVID-19.
“Ivermectin is often used in the U.S. to treat or prevent parasites in animals. The FDA has received multiple reports of patients who have needed medical support and have been hospitalized after self-medication with ivermectin for horses,” he said. administration, which added that ivermectin has not been approved by the FDA for use in the treatment or prevention of COVID-19 in humans.
Vitamin D has also not been shown to help treat COVID-19, as the National Institutes of Health states that “there is insufficient evidence to recommend either for or against the use of vitamin D for to the prevention or treatment of COVID-19 “.