Spotify Podcast host Joe Rogan challenged vaccine scientist Dr. Peter Hotez to debate presidential candidate and vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr., which generated a great deal of buzz on social media last night from Americans who would welcome this discussion.
The invitation was inspired after Hotez criticized the Democratic presidential candidate for vaccine-questioning statements on “The Joe Rogan Experience” last week.
Rogan pledged to donate $100,000 to a charity of Hotez’s choosing if he agreed to the appear with the political scion, who has launched a longshot bid to dethrone President Biden in the 2024 Democratic primary.Rogan’s challenge, which has since been viewed over 25 million times, prompted Hotez to respond in a now-deleted tweet, which turned into a back-and-forth exchange.“Be serious Joe, that’s what you throw for your hunting buddies on a weekend,” Hotez said. “A $50 million endowment (which You/Spotify/ RFK Jr can easily afford), not for me but so we can continue making low-cost patent-free vaccines for the world’s poor. Preceded by RFK Jr’s public apology.”Twitter owner Elon Musk chimed in saying Hotez “hates charity” while Kennedy, agreed to a “respectful, congenial, informative debate that the American people deserve.’
Hotez responded with hyperbole and drama, especially when Twitter’s new owner and free-speech supporter Elon Musk chimed in.
When Rogan called the reply a “non-answer,” the virologist responded, “Joe if you are serious about addressing vaccines + the fact that 200,000 unvaccinated Americans needlessly perished during our awful delta/BA.1 Covid waves (including 40,000 in our state of Texas) because they fell victims to vaccine disinformation: I want to have that discussion.”Dr. Hotez added, “I’m happy to come on and have a meaningful discussion. I respect you and your show and I don’t want an adversarial relationship. I think we can make some progress.”Then Twitter owner Elon Musk jumped in to say of Dr. Hotez, “He’s afraid of a public debate, because he knows he’s wrong.”
Hotez is involved in global health, vaccinology, and neglected tropical disease control. Looking back on his record associated with covid, it must be noted that Hotez thought the lab-leak scenario for its origins was unlikely.
Hotez is more confident in previous scientific studies which suggest COVID emerged much like SARS did in 2002 or MERS in 2012 — from animal to human contact in wet markets.In June 2021, Hotez called the lab leak theory unlikely. He said despite the new report, he feels the same way.”I think (the lab leak theory) is plausible. It’s not impossible. But, I think it is unlikely,” he said. “Based on the publicly available data and evidence, I see no reason to bring in a lab leak (as a possible origin). Now the Department of Energy said they’re looking at classified information, and maybe there is something new in the classified information.”
As we now know, patient Zero was likely a Chinese scientist at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. So, just perhaps, Hotez might be uncomfortable with these “expert” opinions being challenged in a public forum.
The most important aspect of this social media discussion is how many Americans would welcome an intelligent, fact-based debate on vaccines, especially the one for the novel coronavirus that is continually being pushed by Big Pharma and Big Government (and which the public no longer wants). For example, American entrepreneur Steven Krish offered an extra $100,000 dollars as an incentive for Hotez to debate.
While the debate may never happen, the ensuing Twitter discussion suggests that people no longer trust the media and the preferred experts who continue to push the covid vaccine narrative. This is especially true as vaccine injury claims are now being pressed after the covid emergency has ended.
Thousands of Covid-19 vaccine injury allegations have been submitted to the federal government and are unlikely to be reviewed any time soon without intervention by the Biden administration and Congress, according to attorneys whose potential clients feel they have nowhere to turn.Appendicitis, cognitive difficulty, abdominal pain, and abnormal heart rhythm are just some of the Covid vaccine-related injuries cited by the 8,208 individuals who have filed requests for benefits with the Health and Human Services Department’s Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program.The CICP has reached only 749 decisions on claims related to Covid treatments, with four cases resulting in compensation.Now, with the public health emergency officially over, attorneys say it’s time for the administration and Congress to move Covid vaccine injury claims to a program they say is better suited for addressing them. But doing so would require lawmakers to tackle some much-needed reforms.
Sound science will survive fact-based debate. Offering glib answers to softball questions in a friendly media environment proves exactly nothing, especially to Americans recovering from the policies “experts” offered based on narratives.
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