Anti-vaccine radio host from NJ dies of COVID-19
A New Jersey native has become the latest prominent COVID-19 denier and anti-vaccine commentator to die of COVID-19.
Bob Enyart, who was born in Paterson and grew up in Passaic County, had been hospitalized alongside his wife on Sept. 10 — both for “severe” COVID-19 conditions, according to his official Facebook page.
The 62-year-old Enyart was a controversial and often inflammatory pastor of the Denver Bible Church and co-host of a show called “Real Science Radio,” which features what it calls scientific statements in the Bible.
Back in December, his show had previously said crowded intensive care units at hospitals around the nation were “imagined.”
As of Wednesday, there had been 660,380 confirmed COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. since March 2020, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Roughly 74% of people 12 and older in the U.S. had received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine as of mid-September, while 63% of those 12 and older were fully vaccinated, the CDC reported.
The country's COVID fatalities since late summer have included several other radio hosts or other higher-profile anti-vaccine and anti-mask activists.
Marc Bernier, of Daytona, Florida, had called himself “Mr. Anti-Vax” this past winter, regarding the COVID-19 vaccinations that were just then starting to be administered in the U.S.
In August, Bernier was hospitalized with COVID-19 and died of it three weeks later.
Other COVID deaths among the most vocal critics of efforts to curb the virus have been radio hosts Dick Farrel (also a Newsmax commentator) and 61-year-old Phil Valentine.
Anti-masker Caleb Wallace, 30, of Texas, died of COVID-19 in late August after nearly a month-long hospitalization, according to his wife on a GoFundMe campaign.
Conservative leader Pressley Stutts, of South Carolina, died more than two weeks after being hospitalized as he told Facebook followers that "COVID has created double pneumonia in my lungs.”