Joe Rogan's suggestion that young people don't need to get the vaccine isn't sitting well with Dr. Anthony Fauci, who says that's a totally selfish approach to battling a pandemic.
The Spotify podcaster got a lot of backlash this week for saying folks in their 20s aren't susceptible to serious illness if they get infected ... and adding that he'd tell them not to get vaccinated.
Fauci was on NBC Today and fired back at Rogan's remarks ... saying the guy is simply wrong. He notes that while, yes, younger people aren't as likely to get deathly ill from COVID ... that's not really the point.
He says those people can still contract it -- even without showing symptoms -- and give it to someone else, who might be more prone to getting sick ... and possibly even dying. So, in other words, Fauci says it's a me vs. the world mentality -- and a selfish notion to avoid getting vaccinated just because you think you're healthy and would be fine without it.
Spotify’s Joe Rogan encourages "healthy" young people not to get a coronavirus vaccine. His show is Spotify's most popular podcast.
— Alex Paterson (@AlexPattyy) April 27, 2021
“If you're like 21 years old, and you say to me, should I get vaccinated? I'll go no.” pic.twitter.com/5dX98xUaHS
JR, meanwhile, doesn't seem to have been down with a lot of the COVID protocols that were rolled out over the last year, and has often questioned the legitimacy of CDC guidelines. He's also entertained conspiracy theories and speculation over COVID ... without any expertise on the matter.
Joe's got a massive audience tuning in weekly, so ya get why Fauci -- and others in medicine and science -- are so concerned about him spreading anti-vax ideas at such a critical moment in the pandemic.