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   Florida
   This article is more than 4 months old

Florida radio host who called himself ‘Mr Anti-Vax’ dies of Covid-19

   This article is more than 4 months old
     * Marc Bernier was hospitalized three weeks ago
     * Station and friends pay tribute to host
     * Unvaccinated teacher infected half her students, CDC finds

   Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine bottles.
   [ ]
   Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine bottles. Photograph: Anadolu
   Agency/Getty Images
   Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine bottles. Photograph: Anadolu
   Agency/Getty Images


   Martin Pengelly
   @MartinPengelly
   Sun 29 Aug 2021 15.19 BST [ ]

   First published on Sun 29 Aug 2021 14.34 BST
     *
     *
     *

   A conservative radio host from Florida who criticised coronavirus
   vaccination efforts – and called himself “Mr Anti-Vax” – before
   contracting Covid-19 himself has died, his station said on Saturday.
   US Covid hospitalisations rise above 100,000 for first time since
   January
   Read more

   A statement said: “It’s with great sadness that WNDB and Southern Stone
   Communications announce the passing of Marc Bernier, who informed and
   entertained listeners on WNDB for over 30 years. We kindly ask that
   privacy is given to Marc’s family during this time of grief.”

   When Bernier was hospitalised with Covid-19, three weeks ago, WNDB
   operations manager Mark McKinney told local media: “If you’ve listened
   to his show, you’ve heard him talk about how anti-vaccine he is on the
   air.”

   In December, Bernier told one guest: “I’m not taking it … Are you
   kidding me? Mr Anti-Vax? Jeepers.”

   The Volusia county sheriff, Mike Chitwood, said the station told him
   Bernier, 65, died on Saturday night.

   “I’m numb,” Chitwood told the Daytona Beach News-Journal. “To me, this
   is a death in the family.”

   As the contagious Delta variant spreads, states led by Republicans
   resistant to public health mandates, Florida among them, are struggling
   with a surge of hospitalisations and deaths.

   The overwhelming majority of hospitalisations and deaths from Covid-19
   in the US are among unvaccinated people.

   According to Johns Hopkins University, nearly 637,000 people have died
   of Covid-19 in the US.

   Covid deaths among conservative media figures who opposed vaccination
   or other public health mandates continue to attract national and global
   media attention.

   Among tributes to Bernier, who WNDB said “enjoyed a successful 46-year
   career as a broadcast journalist”, many said that though his show
   presented a conservative viewpoint, he was always fair to liberals.

   “He gives all sides,” Justin Gates, a listener who became a friend,
   told the News-Journal. “He’s not going to bully and throw punches or do
   potshots or do things for ratings. That’s why he’s so popular.”
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