For Green Bay Packers star quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, who once hosted Jeopardy for 2 weeks, the answer to this question should be obvious: What is the best way to protect yourself and others from contracting COVID-19? Yet, Aaron Rodgers has twiddled his thumbs on the podium, given his smuggish smile, and provided conservative talk show hosts like Joe Rogan the doctor scrubs and medical credentials to provide him Covid consultation. Wait- now Rodgers has his answer: What is building your monoclonal antibodies and ivermectin? Wrong, Aaron, wrong. Maybe you should’ve never joined your team in the first place after sitting out on his teammates most of the off-season.
First off, ivermectin is a treatment for parasitic worms, headlice, and skin conditions such as rosacea, that is not approved for use against Covid-19. Secondly, according to the FDA, Even the levels of ivermectin for approved human uses can interact with other medications, like blood-thinners. You can also overdose on ivermectin, which can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, hypotension (low blood pressure), allergic reactions (itching and hives), dizziness, ataxia (problems with balance), seizures, coma, and even death. Thirdly, Rodgers hasn’t thought this through as some people will actually pursue his advice, what will be his talking points then, when he’s contributed to more patient hospitalizations in the United States?
Allergies to the Covid Vaccine?
Rodgers came under fire recently when he said he has an “allergy to an ingredient that’s in the mRNA vaccines” found in Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna. Yet, Rodgers could not detail the allergy and has yet refused to come forth. The number of people who’ve gotten allergic reactions to Covid vaccines is about 2-5 cases per million doses, according to Dr. Niraj Patel of Atlanta, chair of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology’s Covid-19 Vaccine Task Force. Rodgers’ claim could have validity if it was actually backed by truth and medical records- but it’s not – as was his claim that a licensed NFL doctor told him “it’s impossible for a vaccinated person to get COVID or spread COVID”.
What it all boils down to is Rodgers thinks he is somehow more informed than the Dr. Fauci’s of the world, the leading doctors across hospitals who till this day plead for people to get the vaccine if they haven’t. Every night these doctors have to try to go to sleep knowing tomorrow that they’re going to see another patient rolled into the emergency room diagnosed with COVID- another patient who will have to rely on a ventilator to keep them going.
Aaron Rodgers with all his money and stardom doesn’t have to worry about who’s next. Why? Because he’s fallen into the same sad statistics of people who use fake excuses that the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine harbor negative side effects, or that somehow the vaccine is preventing their body from doing its own natural immunity response.
These types of people fail to understand that the mRNA vaccine is giving their body the intelligent blueprint to be prepared to recognize and combat the virus- they fail to care about protecting the immunocompromised, elderly, and youth from exposure to COVID. I feel bad for all the Green Bay Packer kids and fans out there- kids who might have looked up to Rodgers and thought of him as their team’s leader. They’re just going to have to find a new role model to look up to.
It makes me truly disgusted that a professional athlete of Aaron Rodgers’ caliber can even defend his choice to not get the vaccine by evoking the great Martin Luther King, Jr. Rodgers recently paraphrased Dr. King by saying ‘You have a moral obligation to object to unjust rules and rules that make no sense.”
MLK said these words at a time period where black people were hung, beaten, and harassed for wanting to be treated equally – for wanting to take a sip out of the same water fountain as whites, sit at the same restaurant as whites, and go to the same school as whites. These were just some of the many unjust rules MLK pointed out. Rodgers should feel utter shame and remorse for trying to put his own childish rebellion to not get vaccinated in the same light as MLK tried to shine. If MLK were alive today, one could only imagine he’d tell Rodgers to wake up and in MLK’s own words tell him: “Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.”
After contracting Covid, Rodgers said: “There’s a lot to natural immunity, and natural immunity has not been part of the conversation”, adding: “If you’ve gotten Covid, and recovered from it, that’s the best boost to immunity that we can have.”
Trust the Science and Medical Community
Studies have shown that immunity from Covid does continue for several months after recovery, but it is unclear for how long. To ensure longer-term immunity and protection against variants of the virus, the medical experts continue to say the same thing: get vaccinated. Being from Pennsylvania, I follow Geisinger Medical Center who in 2020 joined among 39 U.S. employers that received 2020 Best Employers: Excellence in Health & Well-Being awards presented at the business group’s virtual Workforce Strategy 2020 Conference.
This is one of their more recent infographics which disproves Rodgers’ claim that those who opt against receiving the vaccine are just as safe as those who do get the vaccine. This is the type of data Rodgers needs to see- maybe it needs to be pasted into his own weekly playbook when he gets the chance to flip that open again.
Look, I’m not a Rodgers’ hater or Packers hater. I have no vendetta against the Packers, and in fact, I always thought the organization was special as the Packers are the only publicly-owned, not-for-profit, major league professional team in the United States. Rather than having a single wealthy owner, or multiple partners, the Packers are owned by fans — 360,760 shareholders owning a total of 5,011,558 shares, to be exact.
Prevea Health Ends Partnership With Rodgers
So, it’s certainly going to take time for Rodgers to earn trust in the community again- as was recently seen where Wisconsin-based health care organization, Prevea Health, ended their partnership with Rodgers as of Saturday. Rodgers has served as a spokesperson for Prevea Health since 2012 supporting their health and wellness initiatives.
“Prevea Health remains deeply committed to protecting its patients, staff, providers, and communities amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes encouraging and helping all eligible populations to become vaccinated against COVID-19 to prevent the virus from further significantly impacting lives and livelihoods,” the organization said in a statement.
What’s Next for Rodgers?
What’s next for Rodgers? The NFL won’t suspend Rodgers for the COVID protocol violations committed before he tested positive and his secret status as unvaccinated. However, if Rodgers continues to violate the league’s COVID protocols after he returns to the facility, he could eventually be suspended. I am deep-down rooting for Rodgers to turn a new page, admit that he’s wrong, and become a spokesperson for everyone to get the Covid vaccinations. One must only wonder how we dig away the stubbornness and ignorance that’s buried Rodgers already. Time will only tell.
[1] https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/why-you-should-not-use-ivermectin-treat-or-prevent-covid-19
[2] https://acaai.org/news/acaai-updates-to-guidance-on-risk-of-allergic-reactions-to-covid-19-vaccines/
