Poison drummer Rikki Rockett has tested positive for COVID-19 despite being fully vaccinated.
Rockett disclosed his positive diagnosis Tuesday in a video shared via his YouTube channel, emphasizing that his symptoms were manageable — mostly likely only because he's been vaccinated.
The drummer, who survived throat cancer in 2015, believes he contracted the coronavirus from his son while the two were on a camping trip last week. His son began showing symptoms a few days before he did, he recalled, and after a few days, everyone in the family has tested positive for the virus.
"Guess what: I’m vaccinated. I’m fully vaccinated, and I’ve been vaccinated for months," Rockett said. "I don’t know if this is the [highly contagious COVID-19] delta variant, but every physician I’ve spoken to said it has every hallmark of being the delta variant."
He went on to explain the onset of his symptoms, which started with head congestion, dry mouth, sneezing and then a runny nose. He suffered through a fever that night and called his doctors in the morning. They told him that he should do well, on account of being vaccinated.
After another feverish night, Rockett says he woke up sore, but he had no fever during the day. The third night, he was able to sleep with no fever, and he woke up feeling better. If he continues having no symptoms, his quarantine will end Thursday. His son, Jude, has fully recovered already.
He continued with a forceful statement, urging people to get vaccinated.
“You’re probably thinking to yourself, ‘Vaccinated and you still got COVID. Do you feel like an idiot for getting vaccinated? No," Rockett added. "The reason I don’t feel that way is because I know that this would be way worse, especially if it was the delta variant. And I’m pretty sure — pretty, pretty sure; and I’m gonna get a DNA sequence to make sure — but absolutely every doctor that my family and I have come in contact with, and I think we’re counting seven doctors now, have all said, ‘It is the hallmarks… Everything that you describe is the delta variant.’ So I’m quite confident that that’s what it is. And that would completely devastate me if I hadn’t had the vaccine.”
The delta variant of the coronavirus is the dominant strain of the disease in the U.S. It is considered to be more transmissible than previous mutations of the virus, tracked over the past year. The variant is blamed for COVID outbreaks in U.S. regions with low vaccination rates.
While vaccines do not stave off 100 percent of infections, evidence strongly suggests that COVID symptoms in vaccinated people are generally mild and rarely require hospitalization.
Rockett's COVID disclosure comes after two other vaccinated rockers, Trivium frontman Matt Heafy and Lynyrd Skynyrd frontman Johnny Van Zant recently recovered from the virus.
Both Heafy and Van Zant noted that their symptoms resolved in a matter of days without need for hospitalization or additional medical care.
Heafy pointed out that his father got the virus early this spring before being vaccinated and is still suffering lingering effects more than 12 weeks later.
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Photo: Getty Images North America