Greek Orthodox Anti-Vaxxer Metropolitan Dies of Covid-19

A Greek metropolitan who was a staunch anti-vaxxer died on Monday of Covid-19 at an Athens hospital after a month-long bout with the virus. He was 76.

Metropolitan Kosmas of Aetolia and Acarnania, in western Greece, who had refused to become vaccinated against the virus, was admitted to a hospital in Agrinio on December 1 with a Covid-19 infection before being moved to an ICU room at the capital’s Evangelismos Hospital.

His ICU admission sparked controversy among his critics. According to reports — which were eventually dismissed by authorities — he was given an ICU bed in priority over other patients.

The Metropolitan was a critic of measures to contain Covid-19

Kosmas was a staunch anti-vaxxer and a vociferous critic of government measures to contain the spread of Covid-19, including mask use and vaccination.

During a sermon in 2020, Kosmas lashed out at those who were reluctant to attend a packed church, branding them as “unfaithful.”

“God does not allow you to be infected. God does not infect! It is a holy place, the temple is heavenly,” he said.

Last year, Kosmas was summoned by the Holy Synod to explain himself over what they called his “disobedience and disrespect of the unanimous decision of the collective body of the Church of Greece” regarding the coronavirus health measures during the Easter period.

The cleric’s 75-year-old sister also died of Covid-related complications on December 13. She was also unvaccinated.

Unvaccinated people 11 times more likely to die from Covid-19

Several studies undertaken by the US’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that those who are unvaccinated are 11 times more likely to die from Covid-19 than the vaccinated.

A number of studies by the CDC show that vaccines on the market do remain very effective against the most severe form of the virus and the complications that can ensue from it.

As Smithsonian Magazine reports, those who were not vaccinated made up 95 percent of all Covid-19 cases in the United States, as well as 93 percent of hospitalizations and 92 percent of deaths that occurred between April 4 to June 19 last year.

Published in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) on September 10, the paper stated that the study proved that those who are vaccinated were almost five times less likely to become infected with the coronavirus. They were also ten times less likely to need hospitalization due to complications associated with the virus.