Joe Rogan takes back comments discouraging Covid vaccinations: ‘I am a moron’

‘I am not an anti-vax person,’ the popular podcast host says

Joe Rogan has walked back his statements that seemed to discourage young people from getting a Covid-19 vaccine.

Rogan had previously said young people who are healthy needn’t bother getting vaccinated for the deadly coronavirus.

“If you’re a healthy person, and you’re exercising all the time, and you’re young, and you’re eating well, like, I don’t think you need to worry about this,” he had said on his show.

On Thursday (29 April), Rogan sought to clarify his views.

“I am not an anti-vax person,” the comedian and commentator said on his podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience. “In fact, I said I believe they are safe and I encourage many people to take them. I just said if you’re a young healthy person, you don’t need it. Their argument was you need it for other people ... And yes, that makes sense.”

The comments drew a rebuke from the United States’ top infectious diseases expert, Dr Anthony Fauci.

“That’s incorrect,” Dr Fauci told NBC’s Today Show on Wednesday, explaining that Rogan’s logic only makes sense if “you’re talking about yourself in a vacuum.” Even if a young, healthy person gets a mild or asymptomatic case of the virus, he said, that person can then spread the virus to more vulnerable people.

“You can get infected, and will get infected, if you put yourself at risk,” the doctor explained. “And even if you don’t have any symptoms, you are propagating the outbreak.”

(Spotify)

Rogan’s comments also drew the ire of the White House.

“I guess my first question would be, did Joe Rogan become a medical doctor while we weren’t looking,” White House communications director Kate Bedingfield told CNN. “I’m not sure that taking scientific and medical advice from Joe Rogan is perhaps the most productive way for people to get their information.”

On Thursday, Rogan seemed to agree.

“I am not a doctor. I am a f***ing moron. I am a cage-fighting commentator,” he said on his podcast. “I am not a respected source of information, even for me.”

Clinical trials of the three vaccines authorised for use in the United States – Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson – have shown that all three are extremely effective and safe for adults of all ages.