Stephen A. Smith Says He Would Have Died of COVID-19 If He Hadn’t Been Vaccinated

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ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith returned to television Monday after a month-long bout with COVID-19 and gave a candid perspective of his dire situation on First Take.

“[Doctors] told me, had I not been vaccinated, I wouldn’t be here,” Smith said (h/t Ryan Glasspiegel of the New York Post. “That’s how bad it was.”

Smith explained that while some have only mild symptoms from the virus, his case led to hospitalization with liver damage and pneumonia in both his lungs.

“I had 103 degree fever every night,” he said. “Woke up with chills and a pool of sweat. Headaches were massive. Coughing profusely. And it got to a point where right before New Year’s Eve, I was in the hospital into New Year’s Day. That’s how I brought in the New Year.”

Though he said he is still not 100 percent, he has tested negative and is “on the road to recovery.”

The 54-year-old initially announced on Dec. 21 that he tested positive for COVID-19, saying he was vaccinated but had not yet received a booster shot, via Liz Roscher of Yahoo Sports.

Though vaccinated individuals can contract the virus, there has been a significant difference in symptoms for the two groups.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported in November that unvaccinated adults (18 and over) were 13 times more likely to be hospitalized after testing positive. In October, the CDC stated unvaccinated individuals had a 14 times higher rate of death compared to vaccinated ones and 20 times higher than those with a booster.

“You’re assuming that you’ll have a fever, might have a cough, gonna have that massive headache—but you’ll get over it,” Smith said. “In a lot of cases that was the case. In my case, it was totally different.”

Smith was unfortunate to suffer rare serious symptoms after receiving a vaccine, but he said his doctors believe it saved his life.