Joe Rogan has contracted COVID-19. The controversial podcaster – who faced backlash earlier this year after suggesting “young, healthy” people don’t need to get vaccinated – revealed his diagnosis on social media earlier this morning.
In the video, posted to his Instagram account, Rogan told fans he needed to reschedule an upcoming Nashville show to October but said that he was in good condition. Rogan had recently returned from performing a series of shows in Florida – the state is currently experiencing a huge surge in coronavirus transmission.
“I got back from the road Saturday night feeling very weary. I had a headache, and I felt just run down. Just to be cautious, I separated from my family, slept in a different part of the house,” Rogan said in a video posted to his Instagram account.
“Throughout the night I got fevers and sweats, and I knew what I was going on. So I got up in the morning, got tested, and turns out I got COVID.”
Rogan goes on to say that he subsequently “threw the kitchen sink at it” with “all kinds of meds,” which he proceeds to name. Among them is Ivermectin, a veterinary deworming drug that has been repeatedly shown as ineffective for human protection against coronavirus, so much so that the Food and Drug Administration has warned people against taking the drug.
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Back in April, White House officials rebuked Rogan after he made dismissive comments regarding young people and the coronavirus vaccine. On his Spotify-hosted Joe Rogan Experience podcast, the comedian and UFC commentator erroneously said, “If you’re a healthy person and you’re exercising all the time and you’re young and you’re eating well, I don’t think you need to worry about this.”
White House communications director Kate Bedingfield pointed out that Rogan was not a medical doctor, telling 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.”
Infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci echoed Bedingfield’s comments and pointed out the self-serving nature of Rogan’s remarks, acknowledging that even those with no symptoms can inadvertently infect someone else, leading to more severe outcomes. “If you want to only worry about yourself and not society, then that’s OK,” Fauci said.
Rogan later backtracked on his original comments, saying, “I’m not a doctor, I’m a fucking moron, and I’m a cage-fighting commentator who’s a dirty stand-up comedian… I’m not a respected source of information, even for me.”
Vaccination remains the most effective way of protecting yourself and those around you from the serious effects of COVID-19, significantly reducing your chance of hospitalisation, severe health issues and fatality. Learn more here.
