Joe Rogan posted a video to Instagram on Wednesday in which he revealed that he had contracted COVID-19.
The popular podcast star, comedian and UFC color commentator said that as part of his treatment he took Ivermectin, a dewormer meant for horses that the CDC says is “not authorized or approved by FDA for prevention or treatment of COVID-19.”
On Wednesday, Rogan told his Instagram followers that he had COVID-19 and would have to rearrange his stand-up schedule.
“I got back from the road Saturday night feeling very weary. I had a headache. I felt just run down,” he said, adding his symptoms progressed throughout the evening. The next day, he says he tested positive for COVID-19.
“So we threw the kitchen sink at it, all kinds of meds,” Rogan said, adding that he took a Z-Pak (aka the antibiotic azithromycin), prednisolone (a corticosteroid used to treat inflammation) and Ivermectin, which is a drug used to treat parasitic worms in horses.
Rogan said he was already feeling better. “Here we are on Wednesday, and I feel great,” he said. “I really only had one bad day. Today I feel good, I actually feel pretty fucking good.”
Rogan–who has been criticized for questioning the need for some people to get vaccinated– did not say if he had been vaccinated but did say in the IG post, “A wonderful, heartfelt thank you to modern medicine for pulling me out of this so quickly and easily.”
Watch his whole Instagram statement here:
The Hollywood Reporter points out that Ivermectin has been falsely touted by anti-vaxxers as a treatment for COVID, even though it’s been dismissed by medical authorities and the FDA.
Ivermectin is approved to treat certain conditions in humans, but not COVID-19, which the FDA stressed Aug. 21 when the federal agency tweeted “You are not a horse. You are not a cow. Seriously, y’all. Stop it.” The post included information on why the drug can be “dangerous and even lethal.”
The Spotify podcast host has made headlines during the pandemic for sowing doubt about vaccines. In April, Rogan walked back comments he made on his show when he said young, healthy people could skip the jab.
The New York Times reported on Aug. 30 that Ivermectin has “repeatedly failed in clinical trials to help people infected with the coronavirus.”