GENE SIMMONS Says He Is ‘Really Fine’ After Testing Positive For COVID-19, Urges Everyone To Get Vaccinated

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Gene Simmons says that he is "really fine," two days after it was announced that he had tested positive for COVID-19. The KISS bassist/vocalist credited his vaccination for keeping his infection "minimal" and encouraged others to consider getting the COVID-19 shot. "Thanks to the vaccine, I'm really fine," Gene tweeted. He also responded to a person who seemingly mocked him for catching COVID even though he was inoculated. "Vaccine protects you about 95%. However, you can still get Delta Covid variant," Simmons wrote. "I did…But the effects are minimal, if you've been vaccinated twice. Without vaccine = hospital, pain and maybe death. Do your research. You'll come off much brighter." KISS announced on Tuesday that its next four tour dates would be pushed back after Simmons tested positive for the virus and was experiencing "mild" symptoms. Just days earlier, Simmons's bandmate Paul Stanley also tested positive for COVID-19. "While Paul Stanley recently tweeted that he has recovered from COVID, Gene Simmons has now tested positive and is experiencing mild symptoms," the band said in a statement. "The band and crew will remain at home and isolate for the next 10 days and doctors have indicated the tour should be able to resume on September 9th at FivePoint Amphitheatre in Irvine, CA." The postponed shows were set to take place on September 1 in Clarkston, Michigan; September 2 in Dayton, Ohio; September 4 in Tinley Park, Illinois; and September 5 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The legendary rockers were previously forced to reschedule their August 26 show in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania, August 28 concert in Raleigh, North Carolina and August 29 gig in Atlanta, Georgia after Stanley tested positive. Stanley reassured fans that he was "fine" and had not been hospitalized, but said he was suffering "flu-like symptoms" before finally testing positive. On Monday, he wrote on Twitter: "My COVID symptoms were MILD compared to many others and let me tell you… It kicked my ass. It's over now." When Stanley first tested positive last Thursday, KISS said the whole band and the crew members who are traveling with them on the tour are fully vaccinated. Members of KISS "and their crew have operated in a bubble independently to safeguard everyone as much as possible at each show and in between shows," the band wrote in the statement. "The tour also has a COVID safety protocol officer on staff full-time that is ensuring everyone is closely following all CDC guidelines," the statement continued. In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, Simmons urged fans to get vaccinated against COVID-19, saying: "I would highly recommend for everybody to get two Pfizer or Moderna shots, please — for the rest of us. Even if you believe the Earth is flat, it's not." KISS kicked off the summer 2021 leg of its "End Of The Road" farewell tour on August 18 at the Xfinity Center in Mansfield, Massachusetts. The concert marked the band's first full-length live appearance in front of an audience since March 2020. KISS's farewell trek was launched in January 2019 and was originally scheduled to conclude on July 17, 2021 in New York City but is now expected to last well into 2022. KISS's current lineup consists of original members Stanley and Simmons, alongside later band additions, guitarist Tommy Thayer (since 2002) and drummer Eric Singer (on and off since 1991). Formed in 1973 by Stanley, Simmons, Peter Criss (drums) and Ace Frehley (guitar), KISS staged its first "farewell" tour in 2000, the last to feature the group's original lineup.