Aaron Rodgers thanked Joe Rogan for giving him a treatment 'game plan' when the Packers quarterback got COVID
- Aaron Rodgers thanked Joe Rogan for coming up with a treatment plan to help the quarterback recover from COVID-19.
- Rodgers had previously said he took ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine — two drugs health officials have not approved as treatments for COVID-19 — per Rogan's advice.
Speaking on "The Joe Rogan Experience," Aaron Rodgers thanked Joe Rogan for his guidance in creating a "game plan" for how to treat COVID-19.
The 38-year-old Green Bay Packers quarterback, who is not vaccinated against COVID-19, said he was "symptom-free" from COVID after 36 hours, thanks to a treatment plan the comedian-podcaster gave him.
"I really appreciate you and you helping me out during that time," Rodgers said on the podcast. "I reached out to you, I think, beginning of the season ... You helped me with a game plan to be ready in case I did get COVID. And I followed it to a T, and when I got COVID, within 36 hours I was symptom-free and feeling amazing."
Rodgers tested positive for COVID on November 3 and entered the more rigid NFL protocols for unvaccinated players. He came under scrutiny afterward because he had told reporters in the beginning of the season that he had been "immunized," which many took to mean he was vaccinated.
Rodgers, in fact, had not been vaccinated, and has since said he is allergic to Polyethylene Glycol (PEG), an ingredient in the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines. He did not take the Johnson & Johnson vaccine after it had been paused because of blood-clotting issues in some recipients.
Shortly after his positive test in November, Rodgers spoke on "The Pat McAfee Show" and described what he had been taking to treat COVID, per Rogan's advice.
"I've been doing a lot of the stuff that he recommended, in his podcasts and on the phone to me," Rodgers said. "I've been taking monoclonal antibodies, ivermectin, zinc, vitamin C, D, and HCQ [hydroxychloroquine]… And I feel pretty incredible."
Though ivermectin — an antiparasitic drug — and hydroxychloroquine — typically used to treat malaria — have both been promoted as COVID-19 treatments by vaccine skeptics, public health authorities have not approved the drugs as effective or safe treatments for the virus.
While speaking to Rogers, Rogan said critics of those who did not get vaccinated wouldn't listen to "reason." Rodgers again touted how he responded to the treatments Rogan suggested.
"I'm super healthy and take care of myself really well, and oh, by the way, I just went from: Woke up, had really bad symptoms, to 36 hours later, I feel great."
"No one wanted to hear that," Rogan responded. "No wanted to hear there was a way that you could get through it without being vaccinated and that you would recover very quickly."
Rogan previously came under fire for saying that young people do not need to get a COVID vaccine. He responded to the backlash by saying: "I'm not a doctor. I'm a fucking moron. I'm not a respected source of information, even for me."