Bay Area health experts criticized Joe Rogan’s remarks on his podcast regarding public health guidance after the Spotify host said he did not believe young residents did not need to get vaccinated against the coronavirus.
The podcast “The Joe Rogan Experience” records an average of more than 100 million downloads per month. On his April 23 episode, Rogan said he cautioned young people in their 20s from getting the coronavirus vaccine.
The Joe Rogan Experience
“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,” Rogan said. However, the host’s comments directly contradicted UCSF researchers’ findings of the severity of the virus.
Recent findings showed that one in three young adults is at risk of contracting severe coronavirus symptoms. Public health experts and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said residents over the age of 16 should be vaccinated, placing priorities for college students living in dormitories.
“Unhelpful and wrong,” UCSF’s Dr. George Rutherford said. The medical expert said people should not be taking medical advice from entertainment personalities. UC Berkeley’s School of Public’s Dr. John Swartzberg said the comedian’s opinion ignored the main reason young people get vaccinated, to protect other people.
Swartzberg said people who did not get the coronavirus vaccine were endangering their communities and placed their parents, grandparents, and neighbors, at risk of contracting the COVID-19 virus. “That is a compelling reason to get vaccinated,” he said.
UCSF Professor of pediatrics Dr. Jason Nagata said another reason people should get vaccinated is the ability to socialize. During the pandemic, young people have become more susceptible to eating disorders and suicides. The incidents are a result of loneliness and social isolation because of health protocols.
Nagata said getting vaccinated could help residents socialize and resume a sense of normalcy in their daily lives. He said it “could help the mental health of young people. That is a group that has struggled,” the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
Spotify has previously taken down more than 40 episodes of the host’s videos containing misinformation and conspiracy theories. However, his April 23 episode regarding the vaccination of young people was still viewable on Tuesday afternoon.