RFK Jr.’s Critics Think They’re Too Good To Debate Vaccines
The RFK Jr. vaccine debate is an invitation for Americans to do their own research and a reminder that we should be wary of those who wish to silence discourse.'You are driven by self interest': Mark Cuban claims Elon Musk's Twitter and Joe Rogan 'are the mainstream online media'
Celebrity business magnate Mark Cuban has claimed that business tycoon Elon Musk's Twitter platform and podcaster Joe Rogan "are the mainstream online media."
"Joe , you and @elonmusk's @twitter are the mainstream online media and your platforms have become everything supposedly wrong with MSM. You are driven by self interest. Just like the MSM always has been accused of. And you both have earned that right. You busted your asses to be great at what you do and earned all you have accomplished. But don't lie to yourselves and all of us and tell us you are different. You aren't," Cuban wrote.
\u201cWay to talk in generalities Joe. Not saying there aren't a lot of fucked up things about pharma. That's why we created https://t.co/jYSNkP7amr. But to ignore that the same industry has saved who knows how many lives is bullshit and you know it. \nIt's also disrespectful to all\u2026\u201d— Mark Cuban (@Mark Cuban) 1687109246
Rogan recently offered to donate $100,000 to any charity selected by Dr. Peter Hotez if Hotez would appear on his show and debate Democratic presidential primary candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Rogan made the offer after Hotez had shared a Vice piece titled "Spotify Has Stopped Even Sort of Trying to Stem Joe Rogan’s Vaccine Misinformation." The piece discussed Kennedy's recent appearance on Rogan's show.
\u201cPeter, if you claim what RFKjr is saying is \u201cmisinformation\u201d I am offering you $100,000.00 to the charity of your choice if you\u2019re willing to debate him on my show with no time limit.\u201d— Joe Rogan (@Joe Rogan) 1687040872
Tom Nichols of the Atlantic asserted that a medical professional should not agree to such a debate. "Never debate a conspiracy theorist," he tweeted.
But Rogan fired back: "That would be a great suggestion if you could assure that the industry you were representing wasn't completely captured by heartless monsters who have a history of some of the biggest criminal fines in human history because their deception has cost hundreds of thousands of people their lives. It would be a great suggestion if the industry you were defending didn't occasionally look at human beings as an opportunity to generate insane wealth regardless of the tragic consequences. But you can't do that, so… maybe it would be a good idea to have a f****** debate."
\u201cThat would be a great suggestion if you could assure that the industry you were representing wasn\u2019t completely captured by heartless monsters who have a history of some of the biggest criminal fines in human history because their deception has cost hundreds of thousands of people\u2026\u201d— Joe Rogan (@Joe Rogan) 1687060199
Cuban took issue with Rogan's remarks, saying that Rogan had been disrespectful.
"Way to talk in generalities Joe. Not saying there aren't a lot of f***** up things about pharma. That's why we created http://Costplusdrugs.com," Cuban tweeted. "But to ignore that the same industry has saved who knows how many lives is bullshit and you know it. It's also disrespectful to all the doctors, researchers and medical professionals that dedicate their lives to saving lives, like Dr Hotez and the 800k plus doctors in the country that believe vaccines save lives."
Cuban suggested that Rogan is attempting to bully Hotez.
"Trying to bully Dr Hotez is ridiculous. You have producers that will prepare you and you get to control the conversation," Cuban wrote. "@RobertKennedyJr also has a staff ready to prepare him, and these topics are what he talks about in every speech. You both do this on a daily basis," Cuban said. "Dr Hotez works every day to try to find ways to help people."
\u201cWay to talk in generalities Joe. Not saying there aren't a lot of fucked up things about pharma. That's why we created https://t.co/jYSNkP7amr. But to ignore that the same industry has saved who knows how many lives is bullshit and you know it. \nIt's also disrespectful to all\u2026\u201d— Mark Cuban (@Mark Cuban) 1687109246
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
Liberal MSNBC host tells Peter Hotez not to debate RFK Jr.; likens Kennedy to a Holocaust denier
Vaccine promoter Peter Hotez remains unwilling to agree to a debate with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over whether the Democratic presidential candidate's criticisms of the COVID-19 vaccines amount to "misinformation" — even though Joe Rogan and a cadre of interested parties have together volunteered to donate over $2.6 million to the charity of his choosing.
Hotez appears more than happy to talk, just not to those with dissenting viewpoints for charity's sake.
He appeared Sunday on MSNBC's "Mehdi Hasan Show," in part to peddle his new book, but also to take more digs at Kennedy, suggesting that joining him on Rogan's podcast for a debate would "turn it into 'The Jerry Springer Show.'"
Hasan, in turn, condemned the prospect of debate and likened Kennedy to a "Holocaust denier."
What's the background?
TheBlaze previously reported that Hotez, a self-described "internationally-recognized physician-scientist in neglected tropical diseases and vaccine development," drew Rogan's ire on Saturday by circulating a hit piece from a bankrupted leftist blog that bemoaned Spotify's reluctance to censor the podcast host over so-called "misinformation."
The article, by Anna Merlan, focused on Rogan's recent interview with Kennedy, in which the two discussed the possible fallout from various pharmaceutical initiatives, including the COVID-19 vaccines.
Hotez tweeted, "Spotify Has Stopped Even Sort of Trying to Stem Joe Rogan’s Vaccine Misinformation. It’s really true @annamerlan just awful. And from all the online attacks I’m receiving after this absurd podcast, it’s clear many actually believe this nonsense."
Rogan quickly fired back with a proposal: "Peter, if you claim what RFKjr is saying is 'misinformation' I am offering you $100,000.00 to the charity of your choice if you’re willing to debate him on my show with no time limit."
Others have since volunteered funds to the charity debate pot, reportedly now over $2.62, including Cosmos founder Jae Kwon ($777,000), kickboxer Andrew Tate ($500,000), billionaire investor Bill Ackman ($150,000), Steve Kirsch ($100,00), and podcast host Tim Pool ($100,000).
RFK Jr. accepted the challenge: "Peter. Let’s finally have the respectful, congenial, informative debate that the American people deserve."
Hotez responded to Rogan, but then quickly deleted the tweet: "Be serious Joe, that's what you throw out for your hunting buddies on a weekend. $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."
While Hotez later stated he was "happy to come on and clear the air," he did not agree to the debate.
Echoing a popular sentiment online, scientist Bret Weinstein noted, "If Hotez believed his own press, he’d debate. Big money going to a good cause neutralizes the 'dignifying' argument and winning would be a decisive victory against RFK Jr.’s perspective, which gains ground daily. But @PeterHotez would have to win and he can’t, for obvious reasons."
Elon Musk jumped into the fray by replying, "Maybe @PeterHotez just hates charity," adding, "He's afraid of a public debate, because he knows he's wrong."
\u201c@joerogan He\u2019s afraid of a public debate, because he knows he\u2019s wrong\u201d— Joe Rogan (@Joe Rogan) 1687045901
Tom Nichols, a staff writer at the Atlantic, pre-empted Hasan in suggesting that "no medical professional should ever agree to this. Never. It elevates the conspiracy guy, demeans the medical professional, and will only convince the kooks out there that RFK is right because a real doctor took the time to debate him. Never debate a conspiracy theorist."
Rogan said in reply, "That would be a great suggestion if you could assure that the industry you were representing wasn’t completely captured by heartless monsters who have a history of some of the biggest criminal fines in human history because their deception has cost hundreds of thousands of people their lives. It would be a great suggestion if the industry you were defending didn’t occasionally look at human beings as an opportunity to generate insane wealth regardless of the tragic consequences."
"You can't do that, so... maybe it would be a good idea to have a f***ing debate," added Rogan, who went on to retweet a video by Matt Orfalea calling Hotez "The Great Double-Talking Vaccine Scientist."
\u201cThe Great Double-Talking Vaccine Scientist\u201d— Matt Orfalea (@Matt Orfalea) 1686762931
Hasan's warm embrace
Hotez took a break from retweeting posts praising his record Sunday to appear on Hasan's show.
Dressed in a lab coat, Hotez told the MSNBC host, "During the COVID pandemic ... 200,000 Americans needlessly perished because they believed the anti-vaccine disinformation and refused to take a COVID vaccine during the Delta wave and Ba1 Omicron wave in 2021, 2022, after vaccines were widely available. So the point is anti-vaccine disinformation, it's always done a lot of damage and harm, but now it's a lethal force in the United States."
"That's why we have to have that discussion," Hotez said, adding he was still happy to do so one on one with Rogan, just not with Kennedy present.
“In science, we don’t typically do debates," he told Hasan. "What we do is we write scientific papers. … One doesn’t typically debate science. Maybe the one-off discussion of evolution versus creationism and that sort of thing, but that’s not what we do in science.”
Hasan — whose network advanced the claim in 2021 that the COVID vaccine completely protects against symptoms and transmission — noted he was "fed up" with invitations to debate the issues, intimating that Hotez's writing and past appearances on corporate news programs were themselves satisfactory.
After stressing his antipathy for corrective exchanges of ideas, Hasan then accused Kennedy of contributing to a "vaccine misinformation culture that has led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of lives" and likened him to a "Holocaust denier."
The MSNBC host invoked his own book on the art of debating, then stressed the importance of Hotez avoiding a debate for fear of "elevating the cranks."
\u201c.@PeterHotez responds to being asked to debate anti-vaxxer RFK Jr.\n\n"Anti-vaccine disinformation...is now a lethal force in the United States. I offered to go on Joe Rogan but not to turn it into the Jerry Springer show with having RFK Jr. on."\u201d— The Mehdi Hasan Show (@The Mehdi Hasan Show) 1687136665
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
Joe Rogan slams COVID vaccine advocate who called him a 'neofascist,' challenges him to big money debate with RFK Jr., then Elon Musk jumps into the fray
Joe Rogan blasted a COVID vaccine advocate over accusing him of spreading health misinformation and calling him a "neofascist." Rogan challenged the vaccine researcher to debate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and backed it up with a huge payday for charity.
Peter Hotez is a self-described "internationally-recognized physician-scientist in neglected tropical diseases and vaccine development." Hotez expanded his public profile during the COVID-19 pandemic by making countless appearances on cable news, where he rigorously advocated the COVID vaccine for all ages.
On Saturday morning, Hotez shared an article on Twitter from Vice titled: "Spotify Has Stopped Even Sort of Trying to Stem Joe Rogan’s Vaccine Misinformation."
Hotez wrote, "And from all the online attacks I’m receiving after this absurd podcast, it’s clear many actually believe this nonsense."
The Vice article attacked Rogan's recent interview on Spotify with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. – a skeptic of the mRNA vaccines and Democratic presidential candidate challenging Joe Biden.
The Vice writer claimed that the interview was "an orgy of unchecked vaccine misinformation, some conspiracy-mongering about 5G technology and Wi-Fi, and, of course, Rogan once again praising ivermectin, an ineffective faux COVID treatment."
The writer asserted that "The Joe Rogan Experience" episode promoted "Kennedy’s most dangerously incorrect views, a far too extensive list to outline in full, all of which Rogan accepted uncritically, his mouth quite often literally agape in awe."
Rogan fired back at Hotez on Saturday night with a challenge, "Peter, if you claim what RFK Jr. is saying is 'misinformation' I am offering you $100,000.00 to the charity of your choice if you’re willing to debate him on my show with no time limit."
Hotez responded to Rogan, but then quickly deleted the tweet, "Be serious Joe, that's what you throw out for your hunting buddies on a weekend. $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."
Hotez replied to Rogan, "Joe, you have my cell, my email, I'm always willing to speak with you."
Rogan slammed Hotez, "This is a non-answer. I challenged you publicly because you publicly quote tweeted and agreed with that dogs**t Vice article. If you're really serious about what you stand for, you now have a massive opportunity for a debate that will reach the largest audience a discussion."
The prolific podcaster added, "To those misunderstanding what he’s saying, he’s NOT agreeing to debate @RobertKennedyJr. He’s just offering to come on my show by himself."
Rogan shared a reported screenshot of a May 2023 tweet from Hotez claiming that he was "concerned" about a "pretty formidable coalition with neofascist leanings" that included Rogan, RFK Jr., Elon Musk, and Tucker Carlson.
Hotez later deleted the tweet because he said, "I decided to take down my tweet on the Tucker-Elon alliance. Some very smart people I respect thought my concerns were premature or shouldn’t be labeled at this point. Another, too over-the-top. I agreed, guess we’ll see what unfolds."
Rogan asked Hotez, "Are you sure I’m not a part of a coalition with neofascist leanings? Seems like that’s what you really think, or what you’re projecting to the masses."
\u201cAre you sure I\u2019m not a part of a coalition with neofascist leanings? Seems like that\u2019s what you really think, or what you\u2019re projecting to the masses.\u201d— Joe Rogan (@Joe Rogan) 1687047561
RFK Jr. accepted the challenge, "Peter. Let’s finally have the respectful, congenial, informative debate that the American people deserve."
Elon Musk jumped into the fray by replying, "Maybe @PeterHotez just hates charity."
Musk asked Hotez if he "endorses" Vice, then shared a 2007 Vice article documenting Columbian women who have sex with donkeys.
Musk told Rogan on Twitter, "He’s afraid of a public debate, because he knows he’s wrong."
Hotez lashed out at Musk, "Seriously Elon? This is monstrous. 200,000 Americans needlessly perished (including 40,000 Texans, our neighbors) because they were victims of antivaccine disinformation during our awful Covid delta/BA.1 waves in 2021-22. Please don’t do this."
Musk retorted:
"First of all, I am generally pro vaccine. I have been vaccinated against pretty much everything, as have my kids. Second, I think there is tremendous promise in synthetic mRNA. It is like medicine going from analog to digital. That said, the world obviously went crazy with excess vaccination against 'Covid-19.' I have that in quotes, because the RNA sequences changed so much that I called it the virus of Theseus. So many people I know had serious side effects from the vaccines, including myself. Failure to acknowledge that is a lie. As for the deaths you claim are due to COVID-19, why is the nation of Sweden still alive!? Just go on Rogan and do the debate."
Hotez then wrote on Twitter, "Let’s remember what this is about, not a small number of Americans lost their lives from antivaccine disinformation during the pandemic. 200,000 Americans perished, 40,000 from my State of Texas I have nothing personal vs Joe, Elon, RFK Jr. Just hoping to halt more destruction."
Hotez added, "Not easy to respond when those 3 gang up and tag team. Wish I could be more eloquent and clever when the moment demands, but there you are."
Hotez later retweeted the Twitter account for the "Sorry Not Sorry" podcast by liberal activist Alyssa Milano, which read: "For the record, @PeterHotez has been on our podcast multiple times. He doesn’t need to debate a science-denier on the podcast of someone who has given platforms to science deniers. He’s already won the debate with the truth."
Rogan has had Hotez as a guest on "The Joe Rogan Experience" in 2019 and 2020.
Rogan previously invited Hotez to debate RFK Jr., but deflected by comparing him to a "Holocaust denier."
\u201cListen to Hotez explain to @joerogan why he doesn\u2019t want to debate @RobertKennedyJr on vaccines\n\n\u201cHe\u2019s an attorney, he is very clever!\u2026 what am I? Im just a scientist\u2026\u201d\n\ndo you think this reason is legit?\n@elonmusk\u201d— aussie17 (@aussie17) 1687053204
During a previous interview, Rogan challenged Hotez about how he enhances his immunity without vaccines. Hotez admitted that he is a "junk foodaholic," which Rogan pointed out that there is a "large body of data that connects poor diet to a host of diseases."
Rogan questioned why Hotez doesn't regularly take vitamins, and the scientist said he "didn't think they're needed."
Hotez quickly changed the subject, "But you still need your vaccines."
Rogan rebutted, "But vaccines aren't going to prevent cancer."
\u201c.@JoeRogan grills Dr. Peter Hotez for exclusively promoting vaccines while disregarding exercise, vitamins, and a healthy diet:\n\n"There's a large body of data that connects poor diet to a host of diseases... You don't think vitamins are needed while you eat junk food?"\u201d— KanekoaTheGreat (@KanekoaTheGreat) 1687058359
Earlier this week, independent journalist Matt Taibbi questioned the consistency of COVID vaccine messaging from Hotez during the coronavirus pandemic.
\u201cIn his latest video, @0rf shows a before-and-after history of statements by celebrated health expert Dr. Peter Hotez:\n\nBEFORE: \u201cIf you wait, it\u2019s going to be too late to protect your child... I\u2019m strongly recommending for adolescents to get their two doses of vaccine... Two doses\u2026\u201d— Matt Taibbi (@Matt Taibbi) 1686589910
You can watch the entire Joe Rogan interview with RFK below.
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
Texas scientists say they have developed a 'game changer' affordable COVID vaccine ignored by US government
A team of Texas-based scientists say they have developed a COVID-19 vaccine using proven technology that is safe, effective, and affordable and will be a "game changer" for poor countries.
The vaccine, called CORBEVAX, was authorized for use in India last month after clinical trials showed promising results. According to NPR, an unpublished study conducted in India found the vaccine was 90% effective in preventing disease caused by the original coronavirus strain and 80% effective against the Delta variant. The vaccine is still being tested against Omicron.
The hope is that this new vaccine can be manufactured and distributed much more cheaply and efficiently than either of the mRNA vaccines produced by Pfizer and Moderna or the viral vector vaccine from Johnson & Johnson.
Peter Hotez and Maria Elena Bottazzi are the medical researchers responsible for developing the vaccine. They began work on what became CORBEVAX around 19 years ago, at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., where they were studying vaccines and treatments for tropical diseases such as schistosomiasis and hookworm, NPR reported.
During the SARS outbreak of 2003, they shifted the focus of their research toward developing a vaccine for that disease. They relocated to Houston to work with Baylor College of Medicine and the Texas Children's Center for Vaccine Development and developed a vaccine candidate that used protein subunit technology. NPR explained that this type of vaccine uses proteins from a pathogen that can induce an immune response in the body but does not cause disease.
"It's the same technology as the hepatitis B vaccine that's been around for decades," Hotez told the outlet.
He emphasized that protein subunit vaccines have a proven track record of safety and authorized use, which gave the developers confidence they would be safe and effective. The mRNA vaccines in widespread use in the U.S. have been developed for decades but were first brought to market during the COVID-19 pandemic with emergency use authorization from the Food & Drug Administration.
All vaccines approved for use in the U.S. have met the FDA's rigorous safety standards, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
While the vaccine developed by Hotez and Bottazzi showed promise, the SARS outbreak ended before a vaccine was needed. Fast-forward to the SARS-2-CoV outbreak of late 2019, and Hotez and Bottazzi decided to investigate whether their abandoned vaccine technology could be adapted for use against COVID-19, a virus very similar to SARS.
They wanted to develop a vaccine candidate, but their work was ignored by the government.
"People were so fixated on innovation that nobody thought, 'Hey, maybe we could use a low-cost, durable, easy-breezy vaccine that can vaccinate the whole world,'" Hotez told NPR.
"We really honestly couldn't get any traction in the U.S., but our mission is always to enable technologies for low- and middle-income countries production and use," Bottazzi added.
The researchers had to turn to private charities for funding. The New York-based JPB Foundation was an early supporter of their work, according to NPR.
"The rest were all Texas philanthropies: the Kleberg Foundation, the [John S.] Dunn Foundation, Tito's Vodka," Hotez said. NPR added that the MD Anderson Foundation gave generously as well.
"When people say, 'Why did we move [from Washington, D.C.] to Texas?' Well, we knew that this was a great philanthropic environment. So this is really very much a Texas vaccine," Hotez explained.
Data suggests this Texas vaccine is effective and the technology behind it has a proven safety record, but the developers are most excited about the fact that it is extremely affordable.
"It's cheap, a dollar, dollar-fifty a dose," Hotez said. "You're not going to get less expensive than that."
On top of that, Hotez and Bottazzi have ensured that the intellectual property behind the vaccine will be publicly available. Unlike big pharmaceutical companies that are keeping their vaccine recipes secret, the CORBEVAX developers want their vaccine to be widely shared at low cost by any vaccine manufacturer that is able to produce it.
"CORBEVAX is a game changer," said Dr. Keith Martin, executive director of the Consortium of Universities for Global Health in Washington, D.C. "It's going to enable countries around the world, particularly low-income countries, to be able to produce these vaccines and distribute them in a way that's going to affordable, effective and safe."
The Indian government granted CORBEVAX emergency use authorization last month, NPR reported. The vaccine is being produced by an Indian company called Bioological E Ltd., which says it is producing 100 million doses per month and has already sold 300 million doses to the Indian government.
But before CORBEVAX sounds too good to be true, there are important limitations to note. NPR reports that one drawback of CORBEVAX's technology is that it can't be modified as quickly as an mRNA vaccine to adapt to new virus variants.
Public health officials will need to decide whether they want a reliable, cheap, easily produced vaccine that may not cover every virus variant or a more expensive, adaptable vaccines that take longer to make and are prized for their novelty.
www.theblaze.com
freebeacon.com
thefederalist.com