Actor Kristy Swanson, the original “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” said Monday she has been hospitalized in New Jersey after contracting COVID-19.
“Prayers for me please. Yesterday I took an ambulance ride to the hospital. I’m still here with pneumonia, I’m on oxygen etc, all covid related of course. I’m in good spirits and in great hands,” she tweeted.
Swanson said she was “at the tail end” of her COVID-19 infection when it “jumped into my lungs.” She said she was being treated at Virtua Memorial Hospital in Mount Holly with blood thinners and baricitinib, a rheumatoid arthritis drug authorized by the FDA for emergency use to treat COVID-19.
Swanson, a vocal supporter of former President Donald Trump, frequently shares misinformation about coronavirus on Twitter, where she has close to 390,000 followers. Recently she promoted debunked conspiracy theories that the nation’s leading infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, “murders puppies.” She has also shared anti-mask and anti-vaccine content, including a tweet last month in which she suggested the government implemented vaccine mandates to make money.
In response to a New York Post report Monday characterizing her as anti-vaccine, Swanson tweeted, “I have NEVER said I am anti-vax.”
“What do you know about my medical or Covid history?” she replied to another tweet from a critic who hoped that she would “get well enough to apologize to the people taking care of you for adding to their burden by not getting vaccinated” and that she would spread the word to others about her mistake.
Both vaccinated and unvaccinated people can contract COVID-19, however, those who have received the vaccine are far less likely to get infected, become seriously ill or die. Vaccinated people are also less likely to infect others.
It’s not clear if Swanson is vaccinated against COVID-19. HuffPost has reached out to a representative for comment.