Dr. Vinay Prasad actually *listened* to Joe Rogan's interviews with vaccine skeptics in order to write 'single FAIREST analysis of their views you will read'

Remember that letter in which “270 doctors call out Spotify over Joe Rogan’s podcast”?

‘Menace to public health’: 270 doctors call out Spotify over Joe Rogan’s podcast https://t.co/DhXJ0OPl10

— The Guardian (@guardian) January 14, 2022

Well, if you’ll recall, the 270 doctors who called Spotify and Rogan out were largely not, in fact, doctors.

'270 doctors’ called out Joe Rogan, but the authors of the letter and the vast majority of its signatories are not medical doctors https://t.co/Xa5BLTguxk

— Jordan Schachtel @ dossier.substack.com (@JordanSchachtel) January 16, 2022

And it’s probably a pretty safe bet that the vast majority of the letter’s signatories (if not the whole lot of them) who were calling for Rogan’s head were doing so without having actually taken the time to listen to Rogan’s podcasts.

But there’s at least one physician out there who did, and for what it’s worth, he would not have been signatory #271 on that letter. Dr. Vinay Prasad is a hematologist and oncologist as well as Associate Professor of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at UC San Francisco. And he doesn’t agree that Joe Rogan (or Drs. Robert Malone and Peter McCullough) is a bottomless pit of COVID misinformation and disinformation:

I listened to 6+ hrs of Joe Rogan, Malone & McCullough

In this 3000 wrd essay, I fact check the claims

This will be the single FAIREST analysis of their views you will read

Some take away lessons
🧵🧵🧵🧵https://t.co/zy6bbfg73q pic.twitter.com/gSXFeWB7x8

— Vinay Prasad, MD MPH 🎙️📷 (@VPrasadMDMPH) January 19, 2022

1. @joerogan provides an important platform for people to discuss ideas/ some may be controversial & right, and others may be wrong, but that's life!

Scientists should point out what they get right, and what they get wrong

Calls to censor him are misguided & will backfire pic.twitter.com/rGFoqJhCx6

— Vinay Prasad, MD MPH 🎙️📷 (@VPrasadMDMPH) January 19, 2022

I assess the main claims (but not all claims)

In what follows, I will alternate between things they get very right, and things they get very wrong

2. They are RIGHT to say myocarditis in young boys/ boosters in the young is a real issue & underdiscussed pic.twitter.com/ca9I5RAA9j

— Vinay Prasad, MD MPH 🎙️📷 (@VPrasadMDMPH) January 19, 2022

These are not fringe concerns
Paul Offit takes them seriously — told his own son not to be boosted
Walid Gelad takes them seriously
The former FDA Vax Director & Deputy director resigned over boosters

This is a live issue pic.twitter.com/s0D1wVvkPr

— Vinay Prasad, MD MPH 🎙️📷 (@VPrasadMDMPH) January 19, 2022

3. Vaccines have LOTS of other dangerous side effects

Here I disagree;
I have not seen persuasive evidence for most of these claims

Some verge on fear-mongering

I explain the pros & cons of VAERS in this section pic.twitter.com/SOqRe2N55v

— Vinay Prasad, MD MPH 🎙️📷 (@VPrasadMDMPH) January 19, 2022

3. Our policy around Natural Immunity is un-scientific and this leads to errors with vaccine mandates/ booster mandates, etc.

YES – this is true

These speakers are correct that we have not incorporated natural immunity into guidelines, and this leads to preventable harm pic.twitter.com/G0nIIv0p9w

— Vinay Prasad, MD MPH 🎙️📷 (@VPrasadMDMPH) January 19, 2022

4. At the same time, I am concerned that sometimes readers can take away the wrong message:

Yes we must account for prior infection, but that does not mean better to get sick than get the first dose of vaccine… That is not true (see last sentence) pic.twitter.com/x2G23zU3fs

— Vinay Prasad, MD MPH 🎙️📷 (@VPrasadMDMPH) January 19, 2022

5. Deciding to vaccinate healthy kids 5 to 11, particularly those who already had COVID19 is tricky!

Yes the speakers are right. It is tricky! The UK is not following the US's lead (at least for now). That should tell you something pic.twitter.com/ijsIuI3Shb

— Vinay Prasad, MD MPH 🎙️📷 (@VPrasadMDMPH) January 19, 2022

6. Doctors or hospitals are conspiring against early treatment with HCQ or Ivermectin

— I disagree. If anything, docs loved to give meds off protocol in April-May 2020.

This section may be tough to read, but is accurate. pic.twitter.com/Lm7yHDWX8X

— Vinay Prasad, MD MPH 🎙️📷 (@VPrasadMDMPH) January 19, 2022

7. Censorship is out of control

Absolutely agree. Censoring speech is reckless and insane.

The censors do not have the qualifications to censor, and it will be abused

Malone, Rogan & McCullough are spot on pic.twitter.com/da2TBlsZmd

— Vinay Prasad, MD MPH 🎙️📷 (@VPrasadMDMPH) January 19, 2022

Censoring these 2 has massively backfired

Writing petitions to de-platform @joerogan is laughable– a total joke

I am embarrassed to see scientists respond this way

Write an essay, as I did, if you wish to commenthttps://t.co/zy6bbfg73q pic.twitter.com/EDUyjpTyG6

— Vinay Prasad, MD MPH 🎙️📷 (@VPrasadMDMPH) January 19, 2022

Closing thoughts
There are important things that were said in these podcasts, and many many things I disagree with

Also, I would not have used some of the rhetoric

But the way to rebut ideas
is to rebut ideas

I spent 3k words doing it herehttps://t.co/zy6bbfg73q

— Vinay Prasad, MD MPH 🎙️📷 (@VPrasadMDMPH) January 19, 2022

This is the fairest assessment of Malone and McCullough you will read

Stop signing petitions to silence them,
and don't use the word misinformation

Learn how to explain what's right & wrong
Be fair and not a political ideologuehttps://t.co/zy6bbfg73q

— Vinay Prasad, MD MPH 🎙️📷 (@VPrasadMDMPH) January 19, 2022

What a novel idea. So crazy, it just might work!

Please read the full essayhttps://t.co/zy6bbfg73q

— Vinay Prasad, MD MPH 🎙️📷 (@VPrasadMDMPH) January 19, 2022

If more of the so-called “experts” out there took their cues from Dr. Prasad and were willing to listen to Joe Rogan instead of immediately and unequivocally dismissing everything said on his podcast (and immediately and unequivocally dismissing all of Rogan’s listeners), maybe they’d be worth listening to.