It's no surprise that David Byrd had his come-to-Jesus moment after he got sick and almost died from COVID. Before then, he was a skeptic, signing on with other Republicans for a resolution that accused the “mainstream media” of sensationalizing pandemic coverage. In November, he went on a retreat with other Republicans who also didn't wear masks, practiced any social distancing, etc, and of course, they got sick, Byrd the sickest of them all. In December, Byrd pleaded on Facebook, "So please pray that God will breathe His healing spirit into my lungs!!"

It's been a trying time for Byrd these past couple of years. Several women recently accused Byrd of sexual assault when he was a high school basketball coach decades ago.

If there is such a thing as Karma, David Byrd would be a strong contender for it.

Source: Washington Post

A Tennessee legislator who went from unmasked gatherings with fellow legislators to being placed on ventilator days later has emerged with a message for constituents after a harrowing eight-month experience with long-haul covid-19:

Take the coronavirus seriously.

“It is a disease that wants to kill us,” state Rep. David Byrd (R) said in a statement Friday. Byrd, 63, described an ordeal that included 55 days on a ventilator in which covid-19 ravaged his memory, his muscles and his organs — it led to him having a liver transplant in June; his condition was so grave that his family at least once began planning for his funeral. Stressing that covid-19 is real and “very dangerous,” Byrd encouraged people to get vaccinated.

“This is not an issue that should divide us,” he wrote.

June 2020: Tennessee Rep David Byrd joins GOP colleagues in excoriating journalists, saying they 'sensationalized' COVID.

July 2021: Byrd returns to Legislature after 8-month bout with COVID that required a liver transplant. "It is very dangerous"https://t.co/zRUEAIyQEc

— Bill Grueskin (@BGrueskin) July 30, 2021