Joe Rogan has come under fire for claiming young healthy people don't need the coronavirus vaccine.
On a recent episode of his The Joe Rogan Podcast, the entertainer and MMA commentator told his millions of followers that it wasn't necessary.
"If you're like 21 years old, and you say to me, 'Should I get vaccinated?' I'll go, 'No,'" Rogan said.
Advert
"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 this."
He continued to explain that he's supportive of vaccines but believes, without spouting much evidence, that younger people should be sweet without the jab.
According to Business Insider, Rogan neglected to mention that there's been a recent spike in the number of young people being hospitalised with coronavirus.
Advert
The New York Times added hospitals in Michigan are packed with young coronavirus-suffering patients.
Since Rogan's comments went viral, he's been slammed by the White House.
Anthony Fauci, the US' leading infectious diseases expert, told NBC that the podcaster isn't putting up all the facts.
He spoke about Rogan, saying: "You're talking about yourself in a vacuum. You're worried about yourself getting infected and the likelihood that you're not going to get any symptoms. But you can get infected, and will get infected, if you put yourself at risk."
Advert
Dr Fauci also reminded everyone that you can be asymptomatic and still spread the virus.
"So if you want to only worry about yourself and not society, then that's okay. But if you're saying to yourself, even if I get infected, I could do damage to somebody else even if I have no symptoms at all, and that's the reason why you've got to be careful and get vaccinated," he explained.
Kate Bedingfield, US President Joe Biden's communications director, also went in on Rogan when speaking to CNN.
Advert
She said people all across America should definitely be getting the vaccine when it becomes available to them.
The comms director also questioned what qualifications the podcaster has to speak on the topic of immunology and epidemiology.
"I guess my first question would be, 'Did Joe Rogan become a medical doctor while we weren't looking?'" Bedingfield said.
"I'm not sure that taking scientific and medical advice from Joe Rogan is perhaps the most productive way for people to get their information."
Featured Image Credit: The Joe Rogan ExperienceTopics: News, joe rogan, White House, Coronavirus