Billie Eilish says she 'would have died' from COVID-19 if she hadn't been vaccinated

• Billie Eilish said she thinks she would have died from COVID-19 if she was not vaccinated. 
• "It was terrible. I still have side effects. I was sick for, like, two months almost," she said. 
• The singer also praised the vaccine for protecting her family and friends. 

Billie Eilish said she had COVID-19 in August and believes she would have died had she not been fully vaccinated against the virus. 

Speaking on Howard Stern's show on Monday, the singer revealed she is still suffering from side effects of COVID-19 and praised the worldwide vaccination program for helping to protect her and her family from serious COVID-19 related complications. 

"It was terrible. I still have side effects. I was sick for, like, two months almost. I want it to be clear that it is because of the vaccine that I'm fine because I think if I weren't vaccinated, I would have like died because it was bad," Eilish said in reference to her bout of COVID-19. 

"The vaccine is fucking amazing and it also saved Finneas [her brother and musical collaborator] from getting it; it saved my parents from getting it; it saved my friends from getting it."

The 19-year-old singer later discussed her symptoms further, saying that "in the scheme of COVID," her period with the virus "was not bad" thanks to being vaccinated; however, she said she still felt the severity of the illness. 

"When you have the flu, it feels like you're dying when you're OK," she said.

Eilish — who recently picked up seven nominations at the 2022 Grammy awards, including album of the year for her second album, "Happier Than Ever," and song of the year — has been a public advocate of the COVID-19 vaccines. 

Earlier this year, during an interview with Vanity Fair, the singer pleaded with her fans to take the COVID-19 jab. 

"Please get vaccinated. It's not just for you, you selfish bitch. It's for everyone around you," she said.

According to CDC data, new COVID-19 cases in the United States are once again on the rise. For the first time since October, the 7-day rolling average has passed 100,000 new cases. As Insider's Rebecca Cohen previously reported, the rise in cases comes as the Delta variant continues to spread in the US, and as the new Omicron variant has reached the country.

The first confirmed case of the new coronavirus variant on US soil was on December 1 in California. 

Dr. Anthony Fauci has warned that the US could experience another wave of COVID-19 due to the new Omicron variant. During a recent television interview, Fauci once again urged all Americans to get vaccinated against COVID-19, adding that they should opt for booster shots as well. 

"If we do that successfully in a very intensive way, we can mitigate any increase," he said.