NFL standout Aaron Rodgers’ antivaccine speeches bother scientists

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In the second quarter of this year, he auditioned to host the show “Jeopardy!” Almost every day, his face is seen on television in commercials for well-known brands in the United States, such as insurance company State Farm. And on Sundays, he’s been leading his Green Bay Packers in a seven-win campaign, the best in his division this NFL season.

Quarterback Aaron Rodgers is not only last season’s football MVP, but a celebrity who transcends the most popular US sport, a household name such as Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes.

So when news broke that he had been caught in a coronavirus test last week and had not been vaccinated, Rodgers justified his decision not to be vaccinated by talking about highly effective immunizers and releasing a series of false information based on arc science. Medical professionals reacted negatively, because this will not only make it difficult for them to convince adults who have not yet been vaccinated to do so, but also the new vaccination age group that is starting — children between five and 11 years old.

“If you’re a celebrity, you have a platform,” said Dr. Paul Offitt, director of the Center for Vaccine Education at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. “And if you choose to do what Aaron Rodgers did, which is use this platform to spread misinformation that can make people make bad decisions for themselves and their children, it will certainly wreak havoc.”

The NFL is investigating whether Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers have violated any of their extensive rules on Covid-19, which were developed in collaboration with the players’ union. Rodgers admitted that he had flouted these rules, for example by attending a Halloween party unmasked with teammates. Packers and Rodgers can be fined hundreds of thousands of dollars for violating the rules.

Rodgers is in the midst of a ten-day isolation period and did not play in the Packers’ 13-7 defeat by the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday (7). Like all unvaccinated NFL players who have been found to be contaminated in coronavirus tests, Rodgers will need to submit two negative tests, performed at least 24 hours apart, in order to return to the field after the end of his isolation period. , which ends on Saturday (13).

The most lasting damage to Rodgers’ position, however, may not be measured in dollars or the number of games won or lost. Vaccination rates in the NFL are very high compared to the general population. Nearly all coaches and employees who live with the players have been vaccinated, and 94% of the league’s nearly 2,000 players have been vaccinated, according to the NFL.
But given the league’s huge popularity, it only takes a small number of unvaccinated players to attract a lot of attention. Buffalo Bills wide receiver Cole Beasley and Minnesota Vikings quarterbacks Kirk Cousins ​​and Indianapolis Colts Carson Wentz have been criticized for their choice not to be vaccinated.

But they were upfront about their decision. Rodgers, in contrast, decided not to respond when asked directly if he was vaccinated. He said he was “immunized”.

In an interview on “The Pat McAfee Show” last week, Rodgers said he followed an “immunization protocol” of his own, though he didn’t provide details on what that meant. But vaccination and natural infection are the only ways to gain immunity to the virus, according to the scientists.

In the interview, Rodgers further fueled the controversy by trying to distance himself from conspiracy theorists. “I’m not one of those freaks who are anti-vaccine and believe the Earth is flat,” he said. “I’m a critical thinker.”

But many of the statements he made in the program echo those of people who oppose vaccines.
“Aaron Rodgers is a smart guy,” said David O’Connor, a virus specialist at the University of Wisconsin at Madison and a supporter of the Packers. “But still he remains vulnerable to the disinformation blitz that catches him in the blind side.”

In the interview, Rodgers hinted that the fact that people continue to get Covid-19 and die from the disease means that vaccines are not very effective.

Although imperfect, vaccines offer very strong protection against the worst outcomes of contagion, which include hospitalization and death. Among unvaccinated Americans, the odds of hospitalization for Covid-19 are 10 times higher and that of dying from the disease is 11 times higher than among those vaccinated, according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). ) of the United States government.

“As for people hospitalized by Covid, the overwhelming majority are unvaccinated,” said Angela Rasmussen, a virus specialist at the University of Saskatchewan’s Organization of Vaccines and Infectious Diseases. “And transmission is conducted, overwhelmingly, from unvaccinated people to other unvaccinated people.”

Rodgers also expressed concern that vaccines could cause fertility problems, a common argument of the opposition vaccine movement. There is no indication that vaccines cause infertility, in men or women.

“That kind of claim has been made since vaccines first appeared, and it’s been rebutted flatly a huge number of times,” said Dr. William Schaffner, a vaccine expert at Vanderbilt University. He added that “vaccines are safe and amazingly effective.”

There are a few serious adverse events that have been linked to vaccines, including a clotting problem and an inflammation of the heart muscle, but they are very rare. Experts agree that the health risks associated with Covid-19 are immeasurably higher than those associated with vaccination.

Rodgers said he would not accept the mRNA vaccines, made by Pfizer and Moderna, because he had an allergy to an unspecified ingredient they contain.

Allergies like these are possible — a small number of people are allergic to polyethylene glycol, which is used in Moderna and Pfizer’s vaccines — but extremely rare. For example, there were 11 cases of anaphylactic shock, that is, severe allergic reaction, for every million doses of Pfizer vaccine given, according to a CDC study.

The public health agency recommends that people who have a known allergy to a particular ingredient in one of the mRNA vaccines not use them, but scientists have expressed skepticism that Rodgers actually has a known and documented allergy. Even if he did, he would still be eligible for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which relies on a different technology.

Rodgers also criticized the NFL, practically defying the league to fine him. He claimed, for example, that the league sent a “sentence stick” to the Packers’ preseason pre-season camp to try to “shame” players and force them to get vaccinated. He said he didn’t follow some of the rules, such as wearing a mask when talking to journalists, because he didn’t agree with them.

Like many sports stars, Rodgers works hard to control the narrative of his trajectory. But that can come at a cost, as negative reactions to your comments demonstrate.

“The challenge for players now is that it’s become easy for them to tweet and make podcasts,” said Brad Shear, an attorney who advises NFL players on technology and social media. “I recommend that they stick to the script, keep notes for quick reference, and that when they’re asked tough questions, it’s best to drop the subject. His interview was like a car wreck getting worse and worse.”

Although the league did not set a deadline for completing the investigation, negative reactions were swift. Prevea Health, a Wisconsin health care company, ended its contract with Rodgers the day after his interview aired. State Farm, which has had Rodgers its publicity spokesman for years, said it did not support some of the statements he made (without specifying which ones), but said it “respects everyone’s right to choose.”

On Sunday, only 1.5% of TV commercials aired by State Farm included the figure of Rodgers, compared to 25% on the two previous Sundays, according to data collected by Apex Marketing, which monitors and tracks media and branding issues in the States United.

Television commentators, including Terry Bradshaw, who is part of the American Football Hall of Fame, also criticized Rodgers for potentially putting teammates at risk and for not being honest. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, a basketball legend, went a step further. “Aaron Rodgers not only lied, he hurt professional sport,” he declared.

Rodgers is used to controversy. Over the better part of his 17-year NFL career, he created the image of being a “against” guy on a lot of issues. In late April, ESPN reported that Rodgers was so “dissatisfied” with the Packers that he had told teammates he didn’t want to return to Green Bay. Team general manager Brian Gutekunst, who was busy preparing for the draft , had to publicly declare that Rodgers would not be traded.

Rodgers also exploited this provocative side to stir controversy in 2020, when he tried to convince other players to vote against a new employment contract because it would allow him to add a 17th game to the regular season. (Players approved the contract by a very small majority.)

Rodgers made headlines with his position not only for being a top quarterback, but for being one of the most popular sports league in the United States. Every issue is magnified when it happens in the NFL, whether it’s bullying, domestic violence, protests while playing the national anthem, or anything else. That’s why Rodgers’ position on vaccines has caused such anxiety among scientists.

O’Connor said it was a “shock” to learn that Rodgers hadn’t been vaccinated, especially since, in Wisconsin, a lot of people still haven’t; in the state, 63% of residents received at least one dose of the vaccine, compared to the national average of 67%.

“Within the community he plays in, there is still a lot of work to be done to improve vaccination rates,” said O’Connor.

The timing of the declaration, which coincided with the start of the campaign to vaccinate children aged five to 11, is especially unfortunate, according to Schaffner.

“He is a highly respected and admired figure in the sport,” Schaffner said of Rodgers. “Ideally, we would have clear examples to publicize the vaccine, and we certainly don’t want examples of duplicitous behavior.”

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