South Florida talk show host Dick Farrel, who was against coronavirus vaccines and skeptical of Dr. Anthony Fauci, died on August 4 from COVID-19 complications.
Farrel, 65, advocated against getting the coronavirus vaccine but changed his view after contracting COVID. He worked as a radio host from West Palm Beach, Florida, and was a critic of Fauci.
When COVID-19 sent him to the hospital for three weeks, though, he changed his tune, urging friends to get vaccinated, friends told local station WPTV.
"Why take a vax promoted by people who lied 2u all along about masks, where the virus came from and the death toll?" Farrel wrote on Facebook on July 3.
"Vaccine Bogus Bull Shid!, Two peeps I know, got vaxed, now have Corona, hospitalized critical," he wrote on July 1. "Thank you Moderna, FOR NOTHING!" He called masks "face diapers" and "face pantys."
Farrel Called Fauci a 'Power-Tripping Lying Freak'
On July 7, Farrel, a Trump supporter, called Dr. Anthony Fauci a "power tripping lying freak." He called Fauci "FOOT-chee" and said that the infectious disease expert and "power trip libb loons" Democrats were conspiring to make it seem like the pandemic was ongoing so they could grab more power, reported The Daily Beast.
Who is Dick Farrel?
Dick Farrel's real name is Farrel Austin Levitt. He was a native of Queens, New York, and got his start in New York radio before bouncing among stations in Florida. He also anchored for the right-wing news outlet Newsmax as a fill-in in 2018, according to TheWrap.
According to The Daily Beast, Farrel wrote often about baseless conspiracy theories of election fraud. In June, he penned a fearmongering post about liberals wanting to remove the American flag, writing, "Civil war beckons."
Once Farrel Contracted the Virus Himself, His Opinion Changed
Amy Leigh Hair, a friend of Farrel's, wrote on Facebook that he had succumbed to COVID-19 and had urged her to get the shot after he got sick.
"Covid Took One Of My Best Friends! 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!' #f---covid#takethevaccination," she wrote on Facebook on Wednesday.
Social media Reactions
Netizens said stories like these are coming daily and anti-vaxxers need to re-examine themselves. One Twitter user wrote, "Unfortunately, one of them dies, two will take his place." Another wrote, "I don't wish COVID on anyone. But I do believe in karma."
One netizen said. "Will Trump have any supporter left after this?" Another comment read, "It's so hard to feel sorry for these anti-vaxers when then die from the very thing that could have been prevented if they had only got the shots. My sympathies for these people have run out."
Few netizens criticized Farrel for his stubbornness in denying the existence of COVID-19. One comment read, "It's a shame that he occupied a bed that could have been used by someone more deserving of the hospital's care."
How many people have to die from COVID for people to get it? Every notable anti-vax person I see who passes says the same thing. Are their dying pleas just completely ignored by their listeners?
— James (@crunchytaters) August 7, 2021
