During an appearance on this morning’s (Wednesday, August 11) edition of CNN‘s “New Day”, former SKID ROW singer Sebastian Bach — who went public with his COVID-19 battle earlier in the month — was asked about his recent tweet in which he said “thank God for vaccines.” He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “Well, absolutely, thank God for vaccines. I got the J&J [Johnson & Johnson] shot [for COVID-19] way back in March. I was one of the first people to run and get it that I knew. I’m a singer, and all that I heard about COVID is that it attacks the lungs. And singing is hard enough anyways. So I did not leave my house for a year and a half. I was very strict in every protocol. I did not even go out to restaurants or anything; I was determined to not get this. It looked like things were turning in a positive direction, so I ventured out to do two concerts about three weeks ago. One was in Tulsa, Oklahoma at the IDL Ballroom. And then the other one was at Beaver Dam, Kentucky — a big, huge outdoor venue that was a big show. And I was fine. Everything was cool. I was wearing my mask — everything. I got home from that week’s worth of shows, and the next day I had a fever. And I tested positive for COVID. But why I say thank God for the vaccine is because it’s been a very mild case. I just had a temperature for three days or so, and now I feel a hundred percent better.”
The 53-year-old singer, who is scheduled to embark on a tour in October celebrating the 30th anniversary of SKID ROW‘s “Slave To The Grind” album, continued: “We’re all in no man’s land right now. I am very confused as to what the fall is going to entail as far as entertainment goes. I’m not a doctor. But they tell me, now that I’ve got it, that I’ll be immune to getting it for 90 days.
“The biggest concern about us, as performers, is we don’t want our fans to get sick. So, obviously, we’re totally perplexed right now as to whether to ‘show must go on’ or ‘we’ve gotta pack it up again.’ I don’t know what to say, but we’re in definitely a no-man’s-land situation right now.”
Asked what message he had for his fans who are hesitant about getting the vaccine, Bach said: “Listen to science. I’m so tired of going on Twitter and getting in an argument that two plus two equals four, or the sky is blue. Science is real. Don’t Florida my Fauci. [Laughs],” he said, referencing the “don’t Fauci my Florida” shirt that a political action committee tied to Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has been selling. “Doctor Fauci is only trying to help everybody; that’s all he’s trying to do. And I don’t understand politicizing medicine; it doesn’t make sense to me. So my advice to the fans would be get the vaccine. You don’t want polio, so you get the vaccine for that. You don’t want COVID.
“If I didn’t have the vaccine, I would be terrified that something would be happening with my voice or my lungs,” he added. “I spent four months getting my voice ready to hit these crazy notes, because in quarantine, you don’t walk around the house screaming like that.”
Bach, like TWISTED SISTER‘s Dee Snider, TRIVIUM‘s Matt Heafy and many others, is showing that while vaccines are exceptionally effective in preventing death and severe illness from the coronavirus and its known variants, some are far from foolproof in preventing infection altogether.
Most of the people with so-called “breakthrough” infections are asymptomatic.
According to Centers For Disease Control And Prevention (CDC), large-scale clinical studies found that COVID-19 vaccination prevented most people from getting COVID-19. Research also provides growing evidence that mRNA COVID-19 vaccines (Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna) offer similar protection in real-world conditions. While these vaccines are effective, no vaccine prevents illness 100% of the time. For any vaccine, there are breakthrough cases.
New variants of the virus that causes COVID-19 illness are spreading in the United States and other countries. Current data suggest that COVID-19 vaccines authorized for use in the United States offer protection against most variants. However, some variants might cause illness in some people after they are fully vaccinated.
“Don’t Florida my Fauci!” says Skid Row ex-singer (also of Gilmore Girls fame) Sebastian Bach. He contracted covid but credits the vaccine for his mild case.
“Get the vaccine,” Bach says. “Like, you don’t want polio, right, so you get the vaccine for that. You don’t want covid.” pic.twitter.com/ugsdwZU5Hk
— Brianna Keilar (@brikeilarcnn) August 11, 2021