Phil Valentine is a conservative radio host in Nashville, Tennessee, who is hospitalized with COVID-19, which he has been battling for more than a week.
His brother Mark Valentine released a statement on Facebook on July 22, 2021, writing, “Phil contracted the Covid virus a little over a week ago & has since been hospitalized & is in very serious condition, suffering from Covid Pneumonia and the attendant side effects. He is in the hospital in the critical care unit breathing with assistance but is NOT on a ventilator. We’d ask that everyone please refrain from contacting him while he is in the hospital.”
He knows “he could die. He knows it, and he is determined for that not to happen,” Mark Valentine told radio host Dan Mandis. “He is by no means ready to leave this earth, he has a lot to say. Phil is a fighter. He’s in good physical condition and…is relatively young. The statistics are with him.”
Valentine hosts he Phil Valentine Show on Nashville’s SuperTalk 99.7 WTN. On July 11, 2021, Valentine wrote on Facebook, “Yes, the rumors are true. I have COVID. Unfortunately for the haters out there, it looks like I’m going to make it. Interesting experience. I’ll have to fill you in when I come back on the air. I’m hoping that will be tomorrow, but I may take a day off just as a precaution. It’ll be a game time decision.”
Here’s what you need to know:
The Family’s Statement Urged People to Get the COVID-19 Vaccine
The family urged people to get vaccinated.
“Phil would like for his listeners to know that while he has never been an ‘anti-vaxer’ he regrets not being more vehemently ‘Pro-Vaccine’, and looks forward to being able to more vigorously advocate that position as soon as he is back on the air, which we all hope will be soon,” the family’s statement read.
“Phil & his family would like for all of you to know that he loves ya’ll and appreciates your concern, thoughts & prayers more than you will ever know. Please continue to pray for his recovery and PLEASE GO GET VACCINATED!”
Radio host Dan Mandis said that Valentine was on the air last Friday but has been off the air since Monday, July 19, 2021. He interviewed Valentine’s brother Mark.
His brother Mark told Madison that “he is in very serious condition.” he said it was a rollercoaster ride, where things got better at night and then they get better and back and forth. “He is lucid, talkative as you might imagine, and struggling to beat this thing. It has been a really shocking thing to all of us. I was talking to him up until they decided to take him to the hospital as a precautionary measure.” The next thing he knew Valentine had “dropped off the edge…we are all very, very concerned.”
He said that Phil was very regretful that he wasn’t a stronger advocate of vaccinations. “Don’t find yourself in the situation that he finds himself. That would be his message to you,” his brother said on the radio.
Mark Valentine wrote on Facebook,
Many of you know that my brother Phil is in the hospital with Covid related pneumonia. He is fighting for his life, which has persuaded me to get vaccinated when I was previously not inclined to do so. I haven’t posted anything pro or con relating to the vaccine because I felt like everyone should decide for themselves whether or not to get it. Having seen this up close and personal I’d encourage ALL of you to put politics and other concerns aside and get it. When the technician came out and asked…’do you have any questions or concerns about the vaccine’, I said hell yeah but I’m gonna get it anyway. Remember it was Trump who caused this vaccine to be available. For the record, I don’t believe there is a chip in the vaccine and I don’t believe 5G is gonna trigger some sort of mass casualties or any of that stuff. The reason roughly half of the population hasn’t taken it is because they (formerly me) assumed we were being lied to for any number of nefarious reasons. The reason I assumed that was because we have been lied to relentlessly for the past 5 years…about everything, so yes I was hesitant. That being said, what Phil is going through is horrible & something I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. Get the vaccine folks…we need all of you to be here for the 2022 elections!
Phil’s most recent Facebook post came on July 15 and was captioned, “Ah, but I’m sure their vaccine is perfectly safe. Don’t worry about it.” It was a Daily Caller story headlined, “Johnson & Johnson To Pull Several Sunscreens Over Cancer-Causing Chemicals.”
In his last radio appearance, Phil Valentine said, “I think I’m on the other side of it. I’m certainly moving forward, it appears, but not in a straight line… It’s just one of those things. I don’t want it to linger on.” But then it took a turn for the worse.
According to WKRN, “Valentine had previously expressed his disagreement with mask mandates, stating that hospitals were never in danger of being overwhelmed by COVID-19 patients. He has also been critical of the virus vaccines, voicing his concerns over their safety.”
Friends Asked for Prayers for Valentine
“Since the family has spoken about this —with his blessing — I’m now free to say publicly that my friend and colleague Phil Valentine is in the hospital … and is in serious condition,” a man named Brian Wilson wrote on Facebook.
“It’s been no secret that Phil is battling Covid. He talked about it on the air last Friday. Now his family says he is fighting for his life. Please join me in praying for Phil’s complete recovery. I know Phil and his family would deeply appreciate your prayers on his behalf. We’re in a situation where we must follow the guidance of the family when it comes to what we share. But I’ll share anything that is shared with us on the Friday edition of Nashville’s Morning News. Prayers up people!”
According to Valentine’s Facebook page, he is a Talk Show Host at Cumulus Media who went to Northern Nash High School, studied Broadcasting at Carolina School of Broadcasting and studied Business at East Carolina University. He lives in Nashville, Tennessee, and he is from Nashville, North Carolina. He’s married.
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