The Truth About Glenn Beck's Second COVID-19 Diagnosis

While there have been a number of questions, both pragmatic and ethical, about sharing stories of people who have contracted COVID-19 after refusing vaccines against the virus, one thing is certain: it is sad and grim business. Regardless of party lines or the very nature of a public health crisis that has been startlingly politicized, human suffering remains the same. This principle still holds true with the revelation on January 12 that conservative pundit and former Fox News radio host Glenn Beck has been diagnosed with COVID-19 — for the second time.

As The Independent and others reported shortly after the story went live, Beck confirmed his COVID-19 status during an appearance on "The Mark Levin Show," a radio program hosted by Fox News' Mark Levin. During his guest appearance, Beck, who had purportedly contracted the disease in the past, insisted that he was "all good," despite the troubling details he shared.

Speaking to Mark Levin, Glenn Beck told the radio host that the virus had "[started] to go into my lungs today," and added that it was "a little disturbing," per the Daily Beast. (According to experts at Johns Hopkins, COVID-19 can cause acute respiratory distress syndrome and sepsis, as well as long-lasting severe ramifications on the respiratory system, and can lead to hospitalization and the need for a ventilator.)

Beck also disclosed that he had not received the jab. In addition, Beck told Levin that he had not received the monoclonal antibody regimen, a treatment given to COVID-19 patients via infusion, which the FDA first authorized for use in November 2020. (Per the Daily Beast, the antibodies are known to be somewhat effective in treating the virus, but they have been less effective against the Omicron variant.) Beck dismissed the regimen as one that "doesn't seem to be working," and assured Levin he was taking Ivermectin — an anti-parasitic medication that many anti-vaxxers have touted as effective against COVID-19, but has been dismissed by scientists as wholly worthless against coronavirus, per the CDC.