Aaron Rodgers Was 'Immunised' Against COVID Without a Vaccine
Aaron Rodgers told the NFL and the media he was 'immunised', implying he was vaccinated, and then tested positive for COVID one week into the season. It emerged that he had been following an alternative protocol developed in consultation with Robert Malone. No alternative immunisation protocol is clinically equivalent to a vaccine.
What we know
NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers stated in 2021 that he was "immunized" against COVID-19 while implying he had not received an approved vaccine, a distinction that misrepresented both his own status and the NFL's actual COVID-19 protocols, which the league confirmed only recognized FDA-authorized or approved vaccines for "vaccinated" status.
Rodgers later confirmed on The Pat McAfee Show that he had not received any of the FDA-authorized mRNA or adenovirus vector vaccines, and had instead undergone a homeopathic treatment protocol that included ivermectin, a regimen with no established scientific basis for producing vaccine-equivalent immunity against COVID-19. Homeopathy itself, as a system, relies on principles, extreme dilution of substances to the point of having no detectable active ingredient, that have been rejected by mainstream pharmacology and have not demonstrated efficacy beyond placebo in controlled trials reviewed by bodies including the National Health Service in the UK and the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health in the US.
The NFL fined Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers for violations of COVID-19 protocol, specifically for Rodgers attending team events and media availabilities without following the masking and testing requirements mandated for unvaccinated players, based on his actual vaccination status once it was clarified, not his self-described "immunized" framing.
Rodgers's use of the term "immunized" appears to have been a deliberate rhetorical choice designed to imply vaccine-equivalent protection while technically avoiding a direct falsehood about receiving a vaccine, a pattern media analysts and health communication researchers have flagged as a recognizable strategy for creating a misleading impression without an outright lie. The episode drew widespread attention specifically because Rodgers had previously been asked directly in a press conference whether he was vaccinated and responded "Yeah, I've been immunized" in a way reporters and the public reasonably understood at the time to mean he had received an approved vaccine.
No peer-reviewed clinical evidence supports homeopathic treatment or ivermectin as providing meaningful protection against COVID-19 infection or severe illness, a point confirmed by the same body of randomized controlled trial evidence, including the TOGETHER and ACTIV-6 trials, discussed in the broader medical literature on ivermectin's lack of efficacy for COVID-19. Rodgers did subsequently contract COVID-19 in November 2021, an outcome consistent with his lack of vaccination rather than with any claimed equivalent immunity.
The episode became a broader case study in how a public figure can create a false impression through carefully chosen words rather than a direct factual claim, prompting several sports and health journalists to write specifically about the distinction between technically true statements and statements designed to mislead, a distinction media literacy researchers say is important because narrowly worded evasions can still cause real-world harm if audiences act on the resulting false impression.
Common claims
- Alternative protocols provide equivalent protection to COVID vaccines.False - no clinical evidence supports this
- Rodgers deliberately used the word 'immunised' to avoid NFL vaccination protocols.Supported - the NFL investigated and penalised him
- Rodgers tested positive for COVID one week into the season.Supported