When Aaron Rodgers told the media he was “immunized” last summer, the sports press didn’t have the savvy to follow-up and ask him whether or not he took one of three approved Covid-19 vaccines, including Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson. No, the sports media accepted his answer leaping to unwarranted conclusions that he said he was vaccinated. So, when 69-year-old sports announcer Bob Costas said Rodgers was “disingenuous,” essentially lied to the press he was being overly harsh. Costas doesn’t have a crystal ball and shouldn’t opine on whether Rodgers latest kerfuffle warrants the kind of harshness and hand wringing in today’s press. Costas thinks Rodgers statement will harm his legacy, when, if fact, there’s every reason to believe it actually cements his iconic and celebrity status. Costas has no problem with what Rodgers does on the gridiron.
When the sports press heard Rodgers say he was “immunized,” why didn’t they follow up with a simple question: Have you taken the Pfizer, Moderna or J&J vaccines? No, the press waits until Rodgers tests positive for Covid-19 Nov. 4, then creates the brouhaha in the press talking about all the possible repercussion on Rodgers’ career, teammates and the team’s standing, should they lose two games without him. Costas showed why he’s decided to scale back his schedule in a kind of early retirement. Talking about Rodgers’ harm to his legacy is way over the top, especially when Rodgers clarified his comments about being “immunized.” Rodgers explained to “The Paul McAfee Show” yesterday that he didn’t take the two mRNA vaccines, Pfizer and Modern, because his doctor had concerns about an allergic reaction. Rodgers said his doctor had concerns about the J&J vaccine.
Last year, after the J&J vaccine was approved Feb. 27, 2020, reports rolled in the U.K., Europe and U.S. that the shot created blood clots, some serious, in a number of patients receiving the vaccine. Rodgers explained there were medical reasons why his doctor advised him against taking the three vaccines. “I realize I’m in the crosshairs of the woke mob right now,” Rodgers said, seeing the media maelstrom, largely negative, in the same kind of “gotcha” game that engulfs today’s politics, whether in sports or Washington. “So, before my final nail gets put in my cancel culture casket, I think I would lit to set the record straight on so many of the blatant lies that are out there about myself,” Rodgers said. Rodgers said he asked the Packers to “accept my immunization status as under the vaccination protocol,” explaining, under doctor’s orders, he was taking Ivermectin and other homeopathic remedies.
Whether or not the Packers or NFL accept Rodgers own “immunization” protocol with Ivermectin or homeopathic remedies, Rodgers received alternative treatment under doctor’s orders. Rodgers said if any reporter asked him last summer a follow up question about his “immunized” status, he would have clarified what he meant. Costas feels entitled to trash Rodgers without merit, leaping to unwarranted conclusions. Under the 1992 Patients Bill of Rights, Rodger had a right to privacy for his medical treatments or, more importantly, a right to refuse or accept any medical treatment of his choice. Rodgers case raises all the issues of President Joe Biden’s Sept. 9 vaccine mandates when on Jan. 9, federal employees will be forced to get vaccines.or possibly lose their jobs. Biden has no idea whether or not his Sept. 9 vaccine mandates affecting 100 million employees are legal.
Since taking office, Biden has created nationwide hysteria over vaccines and mandates. While there’s nothing wrong with speaking from the Bully Pulpit about the benefits of vaccines, there’s something very wrong about forcing U.S. citizens into taking treatments that goes against medical advice or some other legitimate reason. Rodgers’ doctor said he could be allergic to mRNA vaccines or expressed concerns about blood clots from J&J’s vaccine. European Medicines Agency [EMA] suspended J&J vaccines May 26 over concerns about blood clots. South Africa did the same April 13, also concerned about blood clots. So when Costas says Rodger’s was “disingenuous” or lying about his vaccine status, it goes over the top. Despite his right to medical privacy, Rodgers set the record straight stating his concerns last Spring and Summer for not jumping on the vaccine bandwagon.
Rodgers, whether he knows it or not, opens up the legal, ethical and moral debate about Biden’s vaccine mandates, violating current federal statues for dealing with medical privacy and treatments. Under the 1992 Patients Bill of Rights, all patients are entitled to privacy but, more importantly, the right to accept-or-reject any form of treatment. So when Rodgers said his doctor put him on Ivermectin, a common treatment for scabies and homeopathic medicines, that’s his right. When Rodgers talks about the “woke mob,” he’s talking about the White House and NFL response to Covid-19, rubber-stamping Centers for Disease Control [CDC] and FDA guidelines, something that changes almost daily. But the real issue for Rodgers—and the country—going forward is whether U.S. citizens have a right to medical privacy or to take treatments of their choice. Biden’s vaccine mandates turns existing U.S. law on its head.
