J Balvin says he 'almost died' of COVID-19: 'Don't want people to feel what I felt'

Singer J Balvin has revealed that he “almost” died from coronavirus last year and doesn’t want others to suffer the way he did. The Colombian singer, who was diagnosed with the disease in August 2020, shared a leaf from his survival story at the Global Citizen’s Vax Live: The Concert to Reunite the World. “I had COVID before. It almost killed me. We don’t want people to feel what I felt,” Balvin said before taking the stage at the fundraising event, which was held to address the immediate need for wider and more equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines around the globe. According to Billboard, the 36-year-old singer said too few people are vaccinated there and across South America. “I want people to really know they have to vaccinate for themselves, for others, for the world,” he added. The singer, whose full name is Jose Alvaro Osorio Balvin, performed his hit songs ‘Otra Noche Sin Ti’ and ‘Tu Veneno’ at the show. The event was hosted by singer-songwriter Selena Gomez and aired on Saturday on ABC, ABC News Live, CBS, YouTube (streaming here) and iHeartMedia broadcast radio stations.