Melissa Joan Hart contracted a breakthrough case of COVID-19. The actor opened up about how she is doing, physically and emotionally, in a video she posted to Instagram this week—and pled with people to “do better” at preventing transmission as the virus continues to spread across the U.S.
“I got COVID. I am vaccinated, and I got COVID, and it’s bad,” the actor revealed. “It’s weighing on my chest. It’s hard to breathe.”
Along with her COVID-19 symptoms, Hart said she is experiencing a strong mix of strong feelings after getting sick, including anger and disappointment—toward other people, as well as herself.
“I’m really mad that my kids didn’t have to wear masks at school,” said Hart, explaining she believes she may have gotten the virus from one of her children. “One of my kids, I think, has it so far.”
The actor also admitted that while she and her family take precautions, they have gotten “a little lazy” lately. “I’m mad. Really mad,” she said. “Because we tried and we took precautions, and we cut our exposure by a lot. But we got a little lazy, and I think as a country we got lazy.” (Hart does not specify how she or her family have been more lax about the virus lately.)
Hart expressed fear and concern for the rest of her family, and is “praying” nobody else contracts COVID-19. “I just really hope my husband and the other ones don’t get it, because if someone has to be taken to the hospital I can’t go with them,” she said, tearing up. “I’m just scared and sad,” Hart continued. “Disappointed in myself and some of our leaders and a lot of people, including myself.”
Hart shouted out her youngest son, who at age eight is too young to be vaccinated, for wearing a mask at school despite it not being required—as the American Academy of Pediatrics recently recommended all students and staff do, as SELF reported.
“My little one luckily wore a mask every day because he was used to it from last year,” Hart said. “He came home bragging every day, ‘Mom, I wore my mask.’ And I was so thankful.”
As Hart points out, her son’s actions helped reduce the risk that he potentially spread the virus to the people around him at school. “Now, if he does get it, I can at least tell him he was a superhero to those in his classroom, because he protected his teacher and his classmates from it,” Hart said. (It’s not clear from the video which of her sons she thinks may have caught the virus at school.)
Hart closed out her video with a reminder that the pandemic is far from over, and a plea for people to be more careful about protecting themselves and their families. “I just wish I’d done better, so I’m asking you guys to do better. Protect your families, protect your kids,” she said.
As a reminder, those protective measures include getting vaccinated; continuing to wear masks even after you are vaccinated, especially indoors; and getting tested after being exposed to COVID-19, even if you are asymptomatic. “It’s not over yet,” as Hart puts it. “I hoped it was, but it’s not. So stay vigilant, and stay safe.”
Related:
- Jennifer Aniston Says She Had to Cut Some Unvaccinated People Out of Her Life: ‘It’s a Real Shame’
- The FDA Just Authorized COVID-19 Vaccine Boosters for Immunocompromised People
- Teddi Mellencamp Reveals Lingering COVID-19 Symptoms May Have Led to Her Vertigo Fall