Joe Rogan won’t take COVID-19 vaccine: ‘I would if I felt like I needed it’

Joe Rogan—host of popular Joe Rogan Experience (JRE) podcast and the biggest podcast star on Spotify—has no intention of taking the coronavirus vaccine when…

By: Karim Zidan | 2 years ago
Joe Rogan won’t take COVID-19 vaccine: ‘I would if I felt like I needed it’
Bloody Elbow 2.0 | Anton Tabuena

Joe Rogan—host of popular Joe Rogan Experience (JRE) podcast and the biggest podcast star on Spotify—has no intention of taking the coronavirus vaccine when it becomes available to him.

During a recent episode with actor and stand-up comedian Jamar Neighbors, Rogan questioned the importance of the vaccine for health-conscious individuals.

“No,” Rogan said when asked whether he would take the COVID-19 vaccine. “I mean I would if I felt like I needed it. I just feel like if you maintain your health—and I think for some people it’s important.”

Currently, there are two COVID-19 vaccines authorized in the United States: Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna. The Pfizer vaccine has an efficacy rate of 95%, which means that approximately 95% of the people who get the vaccine are protected from becoming seriously ill with the virus. The Moderna vaccine has an efficacy rate of 94.1%, slightly lower than its counterpart. Both require two injections given 28 days apart.

Neither the Pfizer-BioNTech and the Moderna COVID-19 vaccines use the live virus in their vaccines. Instead, both use messenger RNA (mRNA), which give cells instructions for how to make a harmless piece of an S protein, a spike-like structure on the surface of coronaviruses. After vaccination, your cells begin making the protein pieces and displaying them on cell surfaces. Your immune system will recognize that the protein doesn’t belong there and begin building an immune response and making antibodies.

The United States has administered more than 31,000.0000 does of COVID-19 vaccines to date. At least 5.82 million people have completed the two-dose vaccination regimen.

Despite successful clinical trials, well-documented studies and readily available information encouraging people to take the vaccine in order to stop the global pandemic, Rogan expressed doubts about the vaccine, and showed concern that he would not be allowed to travel unless he had been inoculated.

“I’m worried about [not being allowed to travel without vaccine]. I don’t like that. I want to know how people fare over x amount of months. What happens in six months after the vaccine? How long does it last for? Do you need it again next year?”

This is not the first time that Rogan has spread disinformation and debunked conspiracy theories to millions of listeners. In 2019, Rogan tried to validate an unfounded conspiracy theory based on Trump’s claims that Barack Obama broke a law during his transition out of office. Despite the theory being debunked by former National Security Adviser Susan Rice, Rogan discussed the merits of the so-called “Obamagate” on his podcast and claimed that Obama was using the FBI to spy on Trump.

Also in 2019, Rogan repeated the false claim that “left-wing” protestors in Portland, Oregon were responsible for the wildfires in the area despite the FBI calling it a conspiracy theory. Rogan later apologized for his error, stating that he “fucked up.”

Share this story

About the author
Karim Zidan
Karim Zidan

Karim Zidan is a investigative reporter and feature writer focusing on the intersection of sports and politics. He has written for BloodyElbow since 2014 and has served as an associate editor since 2016. He also writes for The New York Times and The Guardian. Karim has been invited to speak about his work at numerous universities, including Princeton, and was a panelist at the South by Southwest (SXSW) film festival and the Oslo Freedom Forum. He also participated in the United Nations counter-terrorism conference in 2021. His reporting on Ramzan Kadyrov’s involvement in MMA, much of which was done for Bloody Elbow, has led to numerous award nominations, and was the basis of an award-winning HBO Real Sports documentary.

More from the author

Related Stories