Infectious Disease Expert Sam Darnold Says He’s Not Sold On The COVID Vaccine

Getty Image Composite

Sam Darnold is barely 24 years old. At that age, I was subsisting on a diet of beef jerky and bong rips and thought depression was a side effect of failing to adequately crush back and bis. Drinking dark liquor out of water bottles was par for the course and my teeth had yet to space out for no reason.

Point being, Sam Darnold is likely still of the mindset that he is infallible and if his body could fight off mononucleosis, COVID may as well be a case of the sniffles.

The newly-minted Carolina Panthers quarterback and amateur infectious disease expert is making waves today after expressing serious doubt about getting vaccinated.

“Still got to think about all those certain things that go into it,” Darnold said, per the Washington Post. “Again, it’s everyone’s choice whether they want to get vaccinated or not. … I’m staying by myself right now. I don’t have a family or anything like that. There’s a ton of different things that go into it. I’m going to evaluate that on my own and make the best decision that I feel is the best for myself.”

The NFL is mandating coaches be fully vaccinated to interact with players on the practice field and this fall, but the NFL and NFL Players Association have not agreed to make COVID-19 vaccinations mandatory for players. Bills G.M. Brandon Beane said that he would cut a non-vaccinated player over a vaccinated player because there are advantages to having more vaccinated players, according to Pro Football Talk.

Darnold’s life will likely be made more difficult if he continues to hold out, both with increased testing and online badgering.