In one of Joe Rogan's latest podcast episodes, he stated that healthy young people should not take the COVID-19 vaccine if they don't need to. Undoubtedly, the statement is being met with some controversy on Twitter.
In the two-minute clip from the podcast, Joe Rogan starts by saying he believes getting the vaccine is safe. Joe Rogan says, "Yeah, for the most part, I think it's safe to get vaccinated. I do."
However, that was only the start of his rant about younger people taking the COVID-19 vaccine.
"But if you're like 21 years old and you say to me, should I get vaccinated, I'd say no. Are you healthy? Are you a healthy person? Look, don't do anything stupid, but you should take care of yourself. 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."
Joe Rogan went further with the topic and discussed the current climate of the job market. Some jobs require employees to be vaccinated and that's another problem that Joe Rogan sees in 2021. But he and his guest quickly moved on to the idea of children being vaccinated.
When the topic moved on to Joe Rogan and his own kids, he claimed that it wasn't a good idea for kids to get vaccinated. In his own experience, when his kids got COVID-19, they only experienced a headache and some discomfort. Though that experience may be true, that doesn't mean that story is the full truth.
It should be noted that the FDA has not approved any COVID-19 vaccines for use on children 16 years old or younger. However, the FDA considers people who are 18 years old and above safe to get vaccinated.
Joe Rogan does apologize if what he's saying is hurtful to parents whose kids have died from the virus. However, it should be taken into account that Joe Rogan is not the official authority on the subject.
After Joe Rogan made the claims, many on Twitter were upset with his rhetoric. One of the biggest problems that people had was the fact that Joe Rogan has the largest show on Spotify. He has a ton of reach and people are worried that his podcast could deter others from getting the vaccine.
Joe Rogan does state that he believes the vaccine is safe to get, but in the end, his statements could deter younger people from getting it themselves.