Billie Eilish believes she 'would have died' from COVID-19 if she was unvaccinated

Pop star Billie Eilish has revealed she was sick with COVID-19 for nearly two months this year, and she believes the "amazing" coronavirus vaccine saved her life.

The 19-year-old "Bad Guy" singer, who hosted Saturday Night Live over the weekend, appeared on The Howard Stern Show Monday, revealing she contracted COVID-19 in August, per Uproxx.

"It was bad," she said. "I didn't die, and I wasn't gonna die, but that does not take away from how miserable it was. I mean, it was terrible. I still have side effects. I mean, I was sick for like two months almost."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Eilish said she was vaccinated against COVID-19 at the time, though she emphasized this isn't evidence the vaccine doesn't work. "I want it to be clear that it is because of the vaccine that I'm fine," she said. "I think if I weren't vaccinated, I would have died, because it was bad."

She clarified, though, that her case wasn't as bad as it could have been in the grand "scheme of COVID," adding that "the vaccine's f---ing amazing" and prevented her brother, parents, and friends from also contracting the coronavirus. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, fully vaccinated people who contract a breakthrough case of COVID-19 "are less likely to develop serious illness than those who are unvaccinated and get COVID-19."

Eilish previously urged her fans to get vaccinated against COVID-19 in an interview with Vanity Fair, saying, "It's not just for you, you selfish b---h! It's for everyone around you. Take care of the people around you, man."