- A Texas GOP official who mocked vaccines died from COVID-19.
- H. Scott Apley, a State Republican Executive Committee member, died on Wednesday, his family said.
- Apley had previously shared memes questioning the usefulness of COVID-19 vaccines.
A Texas GOP official died with COVID-19 days after sharing a meme questioning the usefulness of coronavirus vaccines.
H. Scott Apley, a member of the State Republican Executive Committee in Texas, died in hospital on Wednesday morning.
He tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday, according to a fundraising page set up to cover his medical bills and, later, his funeral expenses. As of early Thursday it had raised $28,000.
Apley, who was also a member of the Dickinson County Council, was a new father, according to the page. His wife had also tested positive for the virus.
The Texas Republican Party confirmed his death on Wednesday.
“I am very saddened to report that H Scott Apley passed away last night at about 3 am,” the page said.
“He leaves behind his wife, Melissa, who is COVID positive, as well as their infant son Reid.”
Five days before his death, Apley shared a meme on Facebook which questioned the usefulness of COVID-19 vaccines, the Daily Beast first reported.
The post was a screenshot of a tweet which read: “In 6 months, we’ve gone from the vax ending the pandemic — to you can still get covid even if vaxxed — to you can pass covid onto others even if vaxxed — to you can still die of covid even if vaxxed — to the unvaxxed are killing the vaxxed.”
In May, he shared a link to an article that described how tickets and giveaways were being used to incentivize people to get vaccinated, and said: “Disgusting.”
Also in May he shared an invitation to a “mask burning” event at a pub in Cincinnati with a caption that read: “I wish I lived in the area!”
Dickinson Mayor Sean Skipworth told the Galveston County Daily News that he did not know whether Apley had been vaccinated against COVID-19.
The Texas Republican Party said in a statement: “The Texas Republican Party is incredibly saddened to learn of the passing of State Republican Executive Committee (SREC) Member Scott Apley from Senate District 11.
“Please join us in praying for the Apley family.”