Melissa Joan Hart, 45, is urging everyone to continue wearing masks amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic after she contracted the virus despite being fully vaccinated. The actress informed her followers about the breakthrough infection — which are rare, but still possible — in an Aug. 18 Instagram video. “I got COVID. I got vaccinated and I got COVID, and it’s bad,” Melissa said from her bed, before divulging some of her symptoms. “It’s weighing on my chest. It’s hard to breathe,” she explained.
The Sabrina the Teenage Witch alum said that at least one of her three children — Mason Wilkerson, 15, Braydon Wilkerson, 13, and Tucker Wilkerson, 8 — has the virus as well, and she’s “praying the other ones are okay.” Melissa said she’s “mad” about the situation, adding, “we tried and took precautions and cut our exposure by a lot, but I think we got a little lazy. And I think as a country we got a little lazy.”
Melissa also pointed her anger towards her children’s school, which does not enforce a mask mandate. “I’m pretty sure that’s where this came from,” she said. “Nothing I can do about it now. I just really hope my husband [Mark Wilkerson] and the other ones don’t get it, because if someone has to be taken to the hospital I can’t go with them.” As she began to choke up, Melissa said she was “scared and sad” and wished she “did better,” but urged her followers that they could learn from her mistakes. “I’m asking you guys to do better, protect your families, protect your kids. Stay vigilant and stay safe.”
After announcing her diagnosis, and pleading to her followers to continue precautions amid the pandemic, Melissa received well wishes from fans and fellow celebs. “I love you and find this beyond heartbreaking,” Broadway star Marissa Jaret Winokur said on Melissa’s post, while Patricia Heaton commented, “Praying for a speedy recover,” and Iain Armitage said, “So sorry – feel better!!!!”
Melissa’s former Sabrina co-star Caroline Rhea also shared some love, telling her fellow actress, “I hate hearing this. I hope you are all feeling better very soon. Sending you lots of love.”