Anti-Vaxxers Stalked Peter Hotez at His Home

Vaccine scientist Peter Hotez, MD, PhD, revealed in a Twitter post this past weekend that anti-vaxxers accosted him outside his home in Texas.

“Ugh I just was stalked in front of my home by a couple of antivaxers taunting me to debate RFKJr,” Hotez wrote. “Of course I was looking my Sunday best in our brutal heat wave,” he added, along with an image of himself dressed in a wide-brimmed hat and Houston Texans t-shirt. “What is it with people? Well at least Houstonian’s now know I support the team…#GoTexans.”

The incident followed a Twitter exchange regarding a highly-viewed podcast and a challenge from its host for a debate.

On Saturday, Hotez tweeted in support of a Vice article entitled, “Spotify Has Stopped Even Sort of Trying to Stem Joe Rogan’s Vaccine Misinformation,” that referenced a recent podcast episode featuring anti-vaccine activist and 2024 Presidential Candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

In response, Rogan also took to Twitter, writing the following to Hotez: “Peter, if you claim what RFKjr is saying is ‘misinformation’ I am offering you $100,000.00 to the charity of your choice if you’re willing to debate him on my show with no time limit.”

From there, the online controversy continued to snowball, with a number of high-profile billionaires even weighing in on the proposed debate, including Mark Cuban and Elon Musk.

However, on Sunday, the wagering made its way from Twitter to Hotez’s front door.

A media representative for Hotez declined further comment on the stalking incident and Twitter exchange, pointing to remarks the vaccine scientist made regarding the matter when he appeared on The Mehdi Hasan Show on MSNBC Sunday evening.

“Well, you know, the attacks from the anti-vaccine lobby do come in waves,” Hotez told MSNBC. “This time, though, it’s been one of the tougher ones because [of] physical stalking and the incessant threatening emails, and the stuff online is just total wackadoodle.”

Hotez also addressed the topic of misinformation when it comes to vaccines.

He stated in part that, during the pandemic, 200,000 Americans “needlessly perished because they believed the anti-vaccine disinformation and refused to take a COVID vaccine” in 2021 and 2022, after vaccines were widely available.

“So, the point is, anti-vaccine disinformation, it’s always done a lot of damage and harm, but now it’s a lethal force in the United States,” Hotez added.

The vaccine scientist further told MSNBC that he has offered to once again talk with Joe Rogan on the host’s podcast, but not in the capacity that was recently posed on Twitter.

“There are certain things you debate … but in science, we don’t typically do debates,” Hotez explained. “What we do is we write scientific papers, we present our findings in front of a critical audience of our peers to solicit their input and suggestions, but one doesn’t typically debate science.”