Unvaccinated Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers doubles down on COVID injection skepticism

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers has doubled down on his skepticism of COVID-19 vaccines.  

‘If science can’t be questioned, it’s not science anymore,’ Rodgers said during his weekly virtual appearance on Pat McAfee’s SirusXM show. ‘It’s propaganda. That’s the truth.’

Rodgers, who recovered from a bout with COVID-19 last month, has been slammed by critics for misleading the public about his vaccination status before the season.

When asked by reporters at August’s training camp if he’d received the COVID-19 injection, Rodgers described himself as ‘immunized,’ but neglected to explain that he hadn’t received a vaccine and was actually referring to a doctor-prescribed therapeutic treatment.

Rodgers’s vaccination status was revealed in early November when he tested positive for coronavirus and was subsequently required to quarantine for 10 days — the minimum amount of time an unvaccinated player is asked to quarantine, per league rules at the time (the NFL recently cut the quarantine time down to five days, per CDC guidance).

After initially blaming the media and the ‘woke mob’ for the misunderstanding, Rodgers told McAfee on November 9 that he wanted to apologize ‘to anybody who felt misled.’

He also said he combatted his COVID-19 infection with recommendations from podcaster and friend, Joe Rogan.

Specifically, Rodgers said he took monoclonal antibodies and Ivermectin — a drug used to work animals in its veterinary form that is unproven to treat COVID-19. The FDA has not approved the drug for use in preventing or treating coronavirus in humans and has warned patients against ingesting veterinary Ivermectin.

On Tuesday, Rodgers claimed the treatments he used to deal with COVID-19 are secretly being adopted by NFL teams.

‘I do know, behind the scenes — this is 100 percent true — there are many teams who are recommending a lot of the same treatments that I got for their players,’ Rodgers told McAfee.

Rodgers said used monoclonal antibodies, zinc, vitamin C and D, HCQ — and the polarizing Ivermectin.

‘I’m not some uneducated person who’s throwing stuff out there,’ Rodgers said. ‘If you want to rip on me because I took horse dewormer, and whatever else you want to talk about, that’s fine. But I also got better in 48 hours. And I had symptoms.’

After questioning the scientific community’s reluctance to adopt these treatments, Rodgers went argued in favor of a ‘debate’ on the subject between CNN medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta and Dr. Peter McCullough, a cardiologist who has been repeatedly criticized for pushing debunked claims about COVID-19 and the vaccines.

‘Let’s have a debate,’ Rodgers said. ‘Let’s hear about sides. Wouldn’t that be awesome?

‘When did we lose the ability to respect somebody’s opinion?’ he continued. ‘My thoughts [on COVID-19] are just my own opinion on this matter.’

Rodgers’s comments did spark some debate on social media. 

‘Rodgers is correct that peer review is all about questioning results,’ wrote on Twitter user. ‘He did however miss a very key aspect of peer review about vaccines- Aaron Rodgers is not a peer to immunologists or medical researcher. His opinion means literally nothing in regards to medical science.’

However, many Twitter users backed Rodgers’s argument that any science which cannot be questioned is really propaganda.  

‘Truth that used to be taught – in what – the 6th grade?’ wrote on Twitter user.