- Drafting
- BBC News World
—
Image source, CBS
—
Stephen Harmon documented his battle with the coronavirus.
–
A California man who poked fun at COVID-19 vaccines on social media has died after battling the disease for a month.
–
Hillsong megachurch member Stephen Harmon had been an outspoken opponent of vaccines, making a series of jokes related to the fact that not having been vaccinated.
–
“I have 99 problems, but the vaccine is not one of them,” the 34-year-old tweeted to his 7,000 followers in June.
–
However, the hospital outside Los Angeles where he died Wednesday treated him for pneumonia and covid-19.
–
In the days leading up to his death, Harmon documented his struggle to stay alive, posting photos of himself in the hospital bed.
–
Image source, Getty Images
—
African Americans and Latinos make up the majority of the South Los Angeles community and are dying from COVID-19 at a significantly higher rate than whites.
–
“Please all pray, you want to intubate me and connect me to a ventilator,” he said.
–
In his last tweet on Wednesday, Harmon said that had decided to undergo a intubation.
–
“I don’t know when I’ll wake up, please pray,” he wrote.
–
Despite being sick with covid, Harmon continued saying that he would refuse to be vaccinated again, saying that his religious faith would protect him.
–
Before his death, I had joked about the pandemic and vaccines, sharing memes and saying he trusted the Bible more than America’s disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci.
–
Image source, Getty Images
—
The call for vaccination is spreading.
–
Hillsong founder Brian Houston confirmed the news of his death in a tweet Thursday.
–
“Ben just passed us the devastating news that our dear friend, Stephen Harmon, passed away from covid. It is heartbreaking,” read the Houston tweet.
–
In an Instagram post, he paid tribute to Harmon.
–
“It was one of the most generous people I know and had a lot of future“he wrote on Instagram.
–
“He always showed up to our grandchildren’s soccer games and many would miss him. RIP.”
–
Added that the church does encourage its members to “follow the guidelines of the doctors.”
–
California has seen an increase in COVID-19 cases in recent weeks, and it agrees that most of those who ended up in the hospital were unvaccinated.
–
—
–
Remember that you can receive notifications from BBC Mundo. Download the new version of our app and activate them so you don’t miss out on our best content.
—
