Joe Rogan, the buff broadcasting behemoth who commands a loyal following among his millions of fans, told listeners of his Spotify podcast there’s no need to get vaccinated if they’re fit and healthy.
His comments go against guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that say vaccinations are safe for everyone over 16, and are necessary for the country to reach herd immunity and safely open up.
Speaking on a newly-released episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, Rogan, 53, said he recommended ‘vulnerable’ people get the shot, adding his parents had received their vaccines.
‘People say, Do you think it’s safe to get vaccinated? I’ve said, yeah, I think for the most part it’s safe to get vaccinated. I do. I do.
‘But if you’re like 21 years old, and you say to me, Should I get vaccinated? I’ll go no,’ he said.
‘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.’
His comments drew criticism on social media where people pointed out his lack of medical expertise; still, others said they were glad someone was speaking their mind about the issue.
Joe Rogan says he recommends vulnerable people get the vaccine, ‘but if you’re like 21 years old, and you say to me, should I get vaccinated? I’ll go no’
On Twitter, user @juddlegum said: ‘My feeling is that, no matter what your age, you should not take medical advice from Joe Rogan.’
Another user pointed out his own experience with COVID-19 and called for Spotify to fire the podcaster. User @aweiss tweeted: ‘I spend 5 days in hospital and am still on supplemental oxygen because of COVID. I may have permanent lung scarring … They need to fire Joe Rogan immediately.’
@juddlegum tweeted: ‘My feeling is that, no matter what your age, you should not take medical advice from Joe Rogan’
User @aweiss tweeted: ‘I spend 5 days in hospital and am still on supplemental oxygen because of COVID. I may have permanent lung scarring … They need to fire Joe Rogan immediately’
Another podcaster, Brandon Farmahini, tweeted that Rogan’s take was ‘very cringy’. ‘Young healthy people should get vaccinated beacuse they can easily contract Covid, spread it & potentially serve as a vessel for the virus to mutate to be deadlier and resistant to existing vaccines. Come on @joerogan, be better,’ he tweeted.
User @downeast72 labeled Rogan irresponsible, tweeting: ‘Healthy 20 year old just died of covid where I live today. 13 year old yesterday. Incredibly irresponsible of you to encourage young people not to be vaccinated. It protects them, their loved ones and helps control the spread of covid.’
Healthy 20 year old just died of covid where I live today. 13 year old yesterday. Incredibly irresponsible of you to encourage young people not to be vaccinated. It’s protects them, their loved ones and helps control the spread of covid.
Brandon Farmahini, tweeted that Rogan’s take was ‘very cringy’. ‘Young healthy people should get vaccinated beacuse they can easily contract Covid, spread it & potentially serve as a vessel for the virus to mutate to be deadlier and resistant to existing vaccines. Come on @joerogan, be better,’ he tweeted
User @downeast72 labeled Rogan irresponsible, tweeting: ‘Healthy 20 year old just died of covid where I live today. 13 year old yesterday. Incredibly irresponsible of you to encourage young people not to be vaccinated. It protects them, their loved ones and helps control the spread of covid’
The Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines are currently only authorized to be given to people over 18, while anyone over 16 is eligible for the Pfizer-BioNTech jab.
Clinical trials are still being carried out to assess the effects of the vaccine on children under 18. A key aspect being studied in the trials is whether the vaccine prevents transmission among young people.
Speaking on the podcast, Rogan said his daughters – Lola, 12, and Rosa 11 – had COVID and ‘it was nothing’.
‘I mean, I hate to say that if someone’s children died from this. I’m very sorry that that happened. I’m not in any way diminishing that. But I’m saying the personal experience that my children had with COVID was nothing.’
Rogan’s guest, the comedian Dave Smith responds: ‘Yeah, I’m not injecting my daughter with something to f***ing virtue signal.’
The CDC says children and adolescents are less likely to get extremely ill or die from COVID-19, but it’s not impossible – and they can still spread the virus to others, including older people.
Comedian Dave Smith, a guest on The Joe Rogan Experience, said ‘I’m not injecting my daughter with something to f***ing virtue signal’
In 2020, Rogan signed an exclusive content deal with Spotify for $100m.
His podcasts, previously mainstays at the top of the Apple podcast charts, have disappeared from the platform, but he is now easily the most popular podcast host on Spotify.
Spotify did not immediately respond to a request for comment from DailyMail.com.
In a previous statement when Rogan has drawn controversy before, the company has said it was important to have ‘diverse voices’ on its platform.
Rogan cultivated an enormous following for his longform, free-flowing interview style on The Joe Rogan Experience, with episodes often lasting more than three hours.
He’s smoked marijuana with Elon Musk on-air, discussed the origins of the universe with Neil deGrasse Tyson, and welcomed all manner of scientists, philosophers, sporting greats such as Mike Tyson and politicians like Bernie Sanders.
He’s also courted controversy for hosting Infowars host Alex Jones, who was allowed to promote COVID-19 conspiracy theories unchecked when he appeared last October.
After Jones’ appearance, Spotify defended Rogan, with one executive saying in a leaked internal email: ‘we are not going to ban specific individuals from being guests on other people’s shows’.
Rogan is also a stand-up comedian, former Fear Factor host and MMA commentator.
Meanwhile, according to the New York Times, 43% of the US population have had at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, and 29% are fully vaccinated.
It’s estimated for the country will reach herd immunity, 70-85% of the population needs to have been vaccinated
A CBS News poll released this week found about 40% of Americans remain hesitant about getting the shot.
When asked if they’d get the jab, 18% said ‘maybe’ and 22% were an outright ‘no’.
On Tuesday, President Joe Biden hailed the US’s ‘stunning progress’ on Covid but warned it was not the time to let up.
The White House has pledged every American adult will be available for a vaccine by May 1.