Prominent Anti-Vaxx Influencer Cirsten Weldon Dies Of COVID-19

Cirsten Weldon, a vocal and active anti-vaxxer who was urging her social media following against taking the COVID-19 vaccine, has succumbed to the virus. As per reports, Weldon began showing symptoms of the infection in December 2021 and was soon hospitalised in California.

She was referring to her condition as "bacterial pneumonia" on social media and allegedly refused to take the remdesivir treatment in the days leading up to her death. A post on her Instagram showed her in an oxygen mask. As reported by Daily Beast, her last video posted on December 28 also showed her coughing and struggling to speak.

Weldon was a known supporter of former US President Donald Trump and a QAnon conspiracy theory influencer pushing far-right ideologies on the internet. During the pandemic, a convergence of QAnon theories and COVID-19 myths have been noted.

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Reports suggest Weldon's anti-vaccine activities extended beyond the virtual space and the influencer also allegedly harassed people standing in line for COVID-19 vaccines in the US. "The vaccines kill, don’t get it!" she allegedly screamed in public, according to a video, calling people getting vaccines "idiots."

In other videos, she positioned herself as a leading critic of US health expert Dr Anthony Fauci, who has been directing the country's health system during the pandemic, and allegedly wanted him to be "hung from a rope."

Weldon's anti-vaxx compatriots are, according to reports, expressing anguish over her death and claim they will initiate action against the hospital where she died.

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There have been reports of multiple anti-vaxx personalities succumbing to COVID-19 in the US in recent months. Earlier this month, Republican deputy district attorney in California, Kelly Ernby, died of complications developed due to the virus at the age of 46. She was a staunch critic of COVID-19 vaccine mandates, citing "the choice to choose."

In another case from last year, viral TikTok influencer Alexandra Blankenbiller died of COVID-19 in August, imploring for her fans to take the vaccine, something she herself had refrained from doing. "I did not get vaccinated. I’m not anti-vax; I was just trying to do my research. I was scared," she said in what was reported as her last TikTok video. Read here.