Prominent Christian televangelist and anti-vaccine advocate Marcus Lamb died after being hospitalized with Covid-19, his family announced Tuesday.

Lamb founded Christian television network Daystar Television Network in 1997.His wife Joni Lamb, announced the televangelist's death on Daystar's program streamed to Facebook Tuesday.

She said her husband had diabetes but was healthy and was hospitalized after being diagnosed with Covid-19.

"He never talked about that, but he had diabetes, but he kept it in check. He was very healthy, he ate healthy, he kept his weight down, and always kept his sugar at a good level. But with trying to treat Covid and the pneumonia, the different protocols that are used, including many of the protocols we talked about here on Daystar, and we used those, and I used them and breezed through Covid.

It caused his blood sugar to spike and just a decrease in his oxygen and that's why he went to the hospital, so he could have oxygen," Joni Lamb said. "He 100% believed in everything that we've talked about here on Daystar and helping so many people around the world with early protocol treatments for Covid. We still stand by that, obviously."

Joni Lamb said her husband's "heart just gave out.

"Marcus Lamb often spoke out against the Covid-19 vaccines on his show. In an episode earlier this year featuring anti-vaccine activists Robert F. Kennedy Jr.and Del Bigtree, Lamb said the Covid-19 vaccine was "not really a vaccine," but an "an experimental shot" that was "dangerous. Marcus Lamb alleged that people were dying or having neurological disorders from the vaccine.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say Covid-19 vaccines "are safe and effective" and that any adverse events after vaccination "are rare but may occur." People who are not vaccinated against Covid-19 were 11 times more likely to die of the disease and 10 times more likely to be hospitalized with the disease, according to a study published by the CDC.

Marcus Lamb's son, Jonathan Lamb, described his father's Covid-19 diagnosis as a "spiritual attack from the enemy" as he hosted the show on November 23.

"There's no doubt in my mind that this is a spiritual attack from the enemy. As much as my parents have gone on here to kind of inform everyone about everything going on in the pandemic and some of the ways to treat Covid, there's no doubt that the enemy is not happy about that, and he's doing everything he can to take down my dad," Jonathan Lamb said.

Joni Lamb described the illness as "riding a roller coaster" on that same episode. She asked people in November to "pray specifically for [Lamb's] lungs to clear, the Covid pneumonia, and pray for his oxygen levels to continue to be strong and to go up and so that we can wean him off of oxygen and then bring him home.

"A statement from Daystar Television Network said in part, "The family asks at this time that their privacy be respected as they grieve this difficult loss, and they wish to express their deep love and gratitude for all those who prayed during Marcus's health battle. Continue to lift them up in prayer in the days ahead."