Anti-vax radio host urged loved ones to get vaccinated before dying of COVID

Conservative radio talk show host and media personality Dick Farrel died of complications from COVID-19 on Wednesday after previously mocking vaccines and calling the coronavirus crisis a “scamdemic.” He was 65-years-old. On his deathbed, Farrel apparently urged his friends to get vaccinated. 

Farrel had previously made several Facebook posts spreading COVID conspiracies and criticizing Dr. Anthony Fauci, who he once called a “power tripping lying freak.” 

The Florida-based “shock-talk” radio host was known for his flamboyant and outrageous shows, WPTV reports. He was also a fill-in anchor at Newsmax in 2018, according to Deadline. 

“His passing is a big loss,” former CBS Radio West Palm Beach market general manager Lee Strasser told WPTV.

In a Facebook post, Farrel’s close friend Amy Leigh Hair said that Farrel told her to get the vaccine before he died. 

“Covid Took One Of My Best Friends!” Hair wrote on Facebook. “RIP Dick Farrel. He is the reason I took the shot! He texted me and told me to “Get it!” He told me that this virus is no joke and he said: ‘I wish I had gotten it!’”

She told WPTV that she was glad she got vaccinated, adding, “I was one of one the people like him who didn’t trust the vaccine. I trusted my immune system. I just became more afraid of getting COVID-19 than I was of any possible side effects of the vaccine.”

Farrel’s death comes as coronavirus cases in Florida surge. NBC News reported Saturday that the state broke the record for new daily cases—23,903—for the third time this week.