“It has recently been decided that I am unsafe to be around, in the studio, and on tour,” Pete Parada said, citing medical reasons for not getting vaccinated.
Pete Parada, the drummer for the pop-punk band the Offspring, says his decision not to get a Covid-19 vaccination for medical reasons has cost him his job.
“Since I am unable to comply with what is increasingly becoming an industry mandate — it has recently been decided that I am unsafe to be around, in the studio, and on tour,” Mr. Parada said on Instagram on Tuesday. “I mention this because you won’t be seeing me at these upcoming shows.”
His doctor had advised him not to get vaccinated, Mr. Parada said, because he has Guillain-Barré syndrome, a disorder in which the body’s immune system attacks nerves.
“The risks far outweigh the benefits,” he said, adding that he had caught the virus last year and suffered mild effects from it.
“I am confident I’d be able to handle it again,” he said of the virus, “but I’m not so certain I’d survive another post-vaccination round” of the syndrome. The Food and Drug Administration last month said Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine may be associated with a small increased risk of Guillain-Barré syndrome. There is not yet any data to suggest a link between the condition and Covid-19 vaccines made by Pfizer-BioNTech or by Moderna, both of which rely upon a different technology.
Mr. Parada also said he did not support “those with the most power” dictating medical procedures to others, citing governments, corporations and employers.
It’s unclear whether Mr. Parada was dropped permanently or temporarily from the band. The Offspring became famous in the 1990s with such songs as “Why Don’t You Get a Job?” and “Pretty Fly (For a White Guy).” Mr. Parada joined in 2007 and this year performed on its latest album, “Let the Bad Times Roll,” its first in nearly a decade.
A request for comment from the band was not immediately returned early Wednesday.
An Offspring concert scheduled for Sunday in Los Angeles is sold out, and dozens of other dates across the United States and Europe are scheduled through next summer.
In recent weeks, there has been a deluge of vaccine mandates from companies amid concerns about the spread of the Delta variant. Tyson Foods and Microsoft were the latest to require employees to be vaccinated. Arts institutions have also begun to require vaccinations for people visiting museums, shows and concerts. Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Tuesday that New York City will become the first U.S. city to require proof of at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine for indoor dining, gyms and other activities.
Mr. Parada said he doesn’t have any negative feelings toward the band, adding, “They’re doing what they believe is best for them, while I am doing the same.”
Source: Music - nytimes.com
