Prince Harry Blasts Joe Rogan Over COVID-19 Vaccine "Misinformation"
Prince Harry is not here for slander against the COVID-19 vaccine. He assailed popular podcast host Joe Rogan over comments he made on a recent episode of his show, The Joe Rogan Experience, suggesting that young, healthy adults don’t need to get vaccinated against a deadly illness that has caused a catastrophic global pandemic.
“The issue is in today’s world with misinformation endemic, you’ve got to be careful about what comes out of your mouth when it comes to that because news doesn't exist in just news any more,” said Prince Harry on Dax Shepard and Monica Padman’s podcast Armchair Expert. He explained that, as one of the top podcasts in America, some of Rogan’s listeners consider him to be a source of their information. Prince Harry implored Rogan to “Just stay out of it. If you have a platform, with a platform comes responsibility.” Spoken like a true British royal.
Rogan came under fire for his previous remarks downplaying the necessity for the COVID-19 vaccine in a recent episode of his show. After acknowledging that “you should get vaccinated if you're vulnerable,” he shrugged off the need for the shot among young adults. “But if you're like 21 years old, and you say to me, 'should I get vaccinated?' I'll go 'no.' Are you healthy?...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 [the vaccine].”
Obviously, Rogan’s comment fly directly in the face of the Center For Disease Control’s guidance, which unequivocally states that “COVID-19 vaccination is recommended for all people 16 years and older.” One vaccine was also recently approved for those 12 and over. We’d also like to remind readers that seemingly healthy individuals can be asymptomatically infected with the coronavirus, and can transmit it to others — which is why everyone should get vaccinated as soon as they are eligible.
Misinformation is a topic of particular interest to Prince Harry. He was recently brought onto the Aspen Institute’s commission on fighting so-called “fake news,” which he calls a “humanitarian issue.” He’s certainly dealt with his share of misleading and flat-out false tabloid stories, and now, he’s putting his foot down on medical misinformation.
After backlash, Rogan later doubled down on his comments. “I believe [the vaccines are] safe,” he said, “and I encouraged many people to take them. I just said, ‘I don’t think that if you’re a young, healthy person, that you need it.’” Spoiler alert: you need the vaccine.
