Wendy Williams has COVID-19: Will her show get cancelled?

Early on Wednesday, the Instagram account for The Wendy Williams Show announced that its host, appropriately named Wendy Williams, tested positive for COVID, forcing her season 13 premiere to be pushed from September 20th to October 4th. While the new season will steam on ahead nonetheless, many are curious whether or not this news means The Wendy Williams Show will be canceled down the road?

“While continuing her health evaluations, Wendy has tested positive for a breakthrough case of COVID-19,” the statement said. “To allow Wendy time to quarantine and fully recover and to ensure that our production abides by all SAG/AFTRA and DGA COVID protocols, we expect to begin the 13th season of The Wendy Williams Show on Monday, October 4th. In the meantime, repeats will be scheduled.” Well, that’s a relief. 

As well, another statement was sent out regarding Wendy Williams’ overall health, with the intention of getting her ready for the October 4th premiere. “Wendy is dealing with some ongoing health issues and is undergoing further evaluations.” The show added at the time that Williams would “not be able to complete her promotional activities” but would “be back in her purple chair” in time for the premiere. But will it get cancelled?

Wendy Williams Show cancelled?

We’re certainly happy that Wendy Williams is recovering, having already been vaccinated and surprisingly joining a small list of celebrities with breakthrough cases, joining the likes of Hilary Duff and Melissa Joan Hart. However, how much longer The Wendy Williams Show can actually survive? After all, many other talk shows are finally returning to their studios with live audiences. Do we really need another talk show?

We were surprised to learn that The Wendy Williams Show has actually already been extended through 2022, possibly helping these networks fill in the lost void once The Ellen Degeneres Show goes off the air, as there’s already plenty of ensemble talk shows, such as The Talk, The View, and The Real. However, with Ellen DeGeneres moving on from her daytime talk show, perhaps we need Wendy Williams now more than ever.

Williams took an extended break from her show in 2019 to focus on her health after a shoulder injury as well as complications from Graves’ disease. The host shared that she was diagnosed with an immune disorder, which affects the thyroid, in 2018. Williams also suffers from hyperthyroidism. Amidst this breakthrough, our best suggestion is to get vaccinated and protect yourself and your loved ones the best you can. 

U.S. coronavirus vaccines available now

According to recent data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over 51% of U.S. citizens have been fully vaccinated for the coronavirus. This includes the likes of Wendy Williams, who, despite getting vaccinated, did manage to contract COVID-19 amidst this surge thanks to the Delta variant, perhaps due to many of her underlying health conditions. What are the updates? 

As of today, there are three vaccines that are being used to fight the spread of COVID-19 and end the current global pandemic. The first vaccine, developed by Pfizer-BioNTech, was first administered in the U.S. at the end of 2020. The second vaccine to fight COVID-19 was developed by Moderna, which was also first given the green light for emergency use at the tail-end of 2020. 

Both of these coronavirus vaccines are estimated to combat the coronavirus with an impressive effectiveness rate of over 93%. However, since the evolving Delta variant made its way to the states, the vaccine efficacy has dropped by a small amount but is still reportedly effective. A third coronavirus vaccine, this time developed by Johnson & Johnson, was given the OK in early 2021, and only requires a single shot.