a322x1n
2021-09-17 00:00:56 UTC
<https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/unvaxed-teen-councilman-who-attacked-m
ask-mandates-now-battling-terrible-covid-pneumonia/ar-AAOwyu7?ocid=msedgd
hp&pc=U531>
<https://tinyurl.com/84x3supw>
Unvaxed Teen Councilman Who Attacked Mask Mandates Now Battling
Terrible COVID Pneumonia. Zoe Richards, 4 hrs ago.
A teenage city council member in Morgan County, Alabama, who tested
positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday after railing against mask mandates
said hes now battling coronavirus-related pneumonia in the hospital.
I am still shallow in breathing but my oxygen remains okay for now,
Decatur City Councilman Hunter Pepper, 19, wrote on Facebook Thursday.
He received a CT scan on Wednesday night that confirmed he has COVID
pneumonia, which is absolutely terrible, he wrote.
On Wednesday, Pepperwhos repeatedly slammed mask mandates and refused
to get vaccinated said that he took two rapid tests and a PCR test for
the coronavirus after he started to feel sick on Monday.
Well, it has finally happened to me. Unfortunately, this morning I have
confirmed two positive [tests] for Covid-19, Pepper wrote Wednesday on
Facebook. Everything In me wants to tell myself it is something
different but every way I look its Covid this, Covid that and it has
terrified me and my family.
Pepper wrote that he was terrified by the way that the media
continues to report on Covid-19 and explains Death each time they
do, adding that he has faith in the lord.
Maybe this will clear up soon and the symptoms of this sickness shall
not progress as I can tell you, it feels terrible not to be able to
breathe.
He later told the Decatur Daily News that he had begun to show a
massive amount of symptoms of the virus on Wednesday and that his
oxygen levels were holding a little well, and I dont feel good at
all.
Peppers diagnosis has raised concerns over whether he may have exposed
other local officials during a city council work session earlier in the
week.
Video: Doctors face hard choices at packed hospital; patients wait in
their cars for treatment. (MSNBC)
Carlton McMasters, a councilman who was seated beside Pepper at the
in-person meeting, told the outlet that he has not had any symptoms.
Im fully vaccinated, McMasters said, according to the outlet. Im
trying my best to follow the CDC guidelines.
Pepper, who is training to become an emergency medical technician, has
routinely challenged pandemic-related restrictions as a city councilman,
both slamming mask mandates and opting not to get vaccinated against the
coronavirus, the outlet reported.
I dont believe you should be forced to do something like this, its
wrong and its government overreach, Pepper said in April as the city
considered repealing a local mask mandate, according to WAFF.
Me wearing a mask should be my choice, Pepper said, days later, in an
April 9 vote to end the citys mask order, per WAAY.
Last month, Pepper, who became the youngest person elected to Decaturs
city council last year, vowed that he would fight to the end against
another city mask mandate.
Only 41 percent of the countys eligible population has been vaccinated,
CDC data shows.
Everybody at City Hall is over 18 and old enough to make their own
medical decisions, he declared at the time.
On Aug. 18, the Alabama Hospital Association said that there were
negative 29 ICU beds available in the state, meaning that dozens of
people in the emergency room were kept waiting for beds to be vacated
for treatment, WBRC reported at the time.
As the Delta variant ripped through the state over the summer, Alabama
saw a massive COVID-19 spike, with more cases recorded in August than in
any month since the pandemic began.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here.
ask-mandates-now-battling-terrible-covid-pneumonia/ar-AAOwyu7?ocid=msedgd
hp&pc=U531>
<https://tinyurl.com/84x3supw>
Unvaxed Teen Councilman Who Attacked Mask Mandates Now Battling
Terrible COVID Pneumonia. Zoe Richards, 4 hrs ago.
A teenage city council member in Morgan County, Alabama, who tested
positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday after railing against mask mandates
said hes now battling coronavirus-related pneumonia in the hospital.
I am still shallow in breathing but my oxygen remains okay for now,
Decatur City Councilman Hunter Pepper, 19, wrote on Facebook Thursday.
He received a CT scan on Wednesday night that confirmed he has COVID
pneumonia, which is absolutely terrible, he wrote.
On Wednesday, Pepperwhos repeatedly slammed mask mandates and refused
to get vaccinated said that he took two rapid tests and a PCR test for
the coronavirus after he started to feel sick on Monday.
Well, it has finally happened to me. Unfortunately, this morning I have
confirmed two positive [tests] for Covid-19, Pepper wrote Wednesday on
Facebook. Everything In me wants to tell myself it is something
different but every way I look its Covid this, Covid that and it has
terrified me and my family.
Pepper wrote that he was terrified by the way that the media
continues to report on Covid-19 and explains Death each time they
do, adding that he has faith in the lord.
Maybe this will clear up soon and the symptoms of this sickness shall
not progress as I can tell you, it feels terrible not to be able to
breathe.
He later told the Decatur Daily News that he had begun to show a
massive amount of symptoms of the virus on Wednesday and that his
oxygen levels were holding a little well, and I dont feel good at
all.
Peppers diagnosis has raised concerns over whether he may have exposed
other local officials during a city council work session earlier in the
week.
Video: Doctors face hard choices at packed hospital; patients wait in
their cars for treatment. (MSNBC)
Carlton McMasters, a councilman who was seated beside Pepper at the
in-person meeting, told the outlet that he has not had any symptoms.
Im fully vaccinated, McMasters said, according to the outlet. Im
trying my best to follow the CDC guidelines.
Pepper, who is training to become an emergency medical technician, has
routinely challenged pandemic-related restrictions as a city councilman,
both slamming mask mandates and opting not to get vaccinated against the
coronavirus, the outlet reported.
I dont believe you should be forced to do something like this, its
wrong and its government overreach, Pepper said in April as the city
considered repealing a local mask mandate, according to WAFF.
Me wearing a mask should be my choice, Pepper said, days later, in an
April 9 vote to end the citys mask order, per WAAY.
Last month, Pepper, who became the youngest person elected to Decaturs
city council last year, vowed that he would fight to the end against
another city mask mandate.
Only 41 percent of the countys eligible population has been vaccinated,
CDC data shows.
Everybody at City Hall is over 18 and old enough to make their own
medical decisions, he declared at the time.
On Aug. 18, the Alabama Hospital Association said that there were
negative 29 ICU beds available in the state, meaning that dozens of
people in the emergency room were kept waiting for beds to be vacated
for treatment, WBRC reported at the time.
As the Delta variant ripped through the state over the summer, Alabama
saw a massive COVID-19 spike, with more cases recorded in August than in
any month since the pandemic began.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here.