Anti-Vaxxer Dies Of COVID-19 After Ripping Off Oxygen Mask Insisting He Didn't Contract Virus

An anti-vaxxer has died of COVID-19 at a hospital in Italy after he ripped off his oxygen mask, claiming he did not have the virus.

Luigi Cossellu, the unvaccinated 28-year-old from Terracina in Latina, south of Rome, denied the existence of COVID-19 even after contracting the virus. He was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit of Santa Maria Goretti Hospital on Jan. 16.

Cossellu refused treatment and ripped off his oxygen mask when he was diagnosed with acute respiratory failure due to coronavirus. Although the doctors successfully persuaded him to put his oxygen mask back on him, Cossellu's condition deteriorated in the following days. He eventually succumbed to death on the fifth day of his treatment at the hospital, News.com.au reported.

Cossellu's 55-year-old father, who is also a staunch anti-vaxxer, has been admitted to the same hospital in a serious condition. He is currently on a ventilator, according to the local news agency Ansa.

After the tragic death of the 28-year-old, the councilor for health for the region, Alessio D’Amato, urged all the young people to get vaccinated. "Covid also hits young people hard. vaccination is important," he said.

"To date, there are still those who say that Covid does not exist, that it is just flu, that I hope it will come to me so I take the Green pass: in the meantime, people in the world die, friends die, grandparents, fathers, children and friends brought away from Covid. Tell the families who have lost a dear relative," a well-wisher posted on Cossellu's Facebook page that has been flooded with condolences from his friends and family.

Meanwhile, Italy reports having the highest rate of vaccination in Europe, with 76.6 % of the population fully-jabbed. In October last year, the country made the vaccine mandatory for teachers and health workers. The country recently announced the implementation of the vaccine mandate for all people over the age of 50. However, Italy has the second-highest death toll in Europe, with more than 138,000 coronavirus deaths since February 2020.