“Dirty Jobs” host Mike Rowe said he wasn’t “petrified” and chooses to “live” his life after being slammed for filming his show during the pandemic in a post from July 2020.
In his Facebook post, Rowe defended his decision to keep working months after the coronavirus forced the entire world to lockdown, social distance and wear masks after a person named Darlene Gabon wrote to him and asked if it was “really important to film a television show in the midst of pandemic” and asked if he wasn’t “concerned.” (RELATED: Mike Rowe Says ’40 Million People In This Country’ Have Been Labeled ‘Non-Essential’ And That’s ‘Fundamentally Upside-Down’)
“Dirty Jobs” host Mike Rowe: Following your passion “rarely works out” — do this instead. pic.twitter.com/d7WnHFBlUU
— #PowerON South Africa (@PowerON_SA) July 14, 2020
“Of course, I’m concerned,” Rowe replied. “I’m just not petrified,” before he linked back to an interview with Dr. Michael Osterholm. (RELATED: Mike Rowe Sends Blistering Message To Colleges Refusing To Fly American Flag)
“Dr. Osterholm is the director of Infectious Disease Research and Policy,” he added. “This is the same epidemiologist who ten years ago, predicted a coronavirus would come from China and turn our country upside down. In his book ‘Deadliest [Enemy],’ he described the utterly irresponsible way in which the media would report on the situation, the completely opportunistic and shamelessly political way our leaders would likely react, and the unprecedented chaos and confusion that would arise from all the mixed messages from the medical community.”
Rowe continued, noting Osterholm was the “only expert” he was aware of who hadn’t “walked back his numbers, reconsidered his position, or moved the goalposts with regard to what we must do, what we can do, and what he expects to happen next.”
“I say all of this because Dr. Osterholm also predicted that we could easily see 100 million COVID cases in this country, with a very strong possibility of 480,000 fatalities – even if we successfully ‘flattened the curve,'” the host shared.
Mike explained by late April he had accepted the “480,000 fatalities” prediction and “quickly navigated the four stages of grief that usually precede acceptance – denial, anger, bargaining, and depression.”
“Since then, I’ve had three full months to come to terms with the fact that, a) I am probably going to get COVID-19 at some point, b), I am almost certainly going to survive it, and c), I might very well give it to someone else,” he added, while sharing he was concerned for both his parents, and others “in a high risk category.”
“But when Dr. Osterholm says that COVID can be slowed, but not stopped, I believe him,” he added. “When he says a vaccine will not necessarily hasten herd immunity, I believe him. And when he says that ‘flattening the curve’ and eliminating the virus have nothing to do with each other, I believe him.”
“Anyway Darlene, that’s a long way of saying that I have accepted Dr. Osterholm’s numbers, and now, after three months of acceptance, I’ve made a decision on how I wish to live my life,” Rowe continued. “Sooner or later, you will too. We all will.”
A year later, the world is facing the coronavirus delta variant and many have called for mask and vaccine mandates.
Parents fear there will once again be school closures and there are places around the world where lockdowns are ongoing.
.@PressSec: “We are not going back to the shutdowns of March 2020… But again, he has said from the beginning that we are going to be guided by the science, guided by our public health experts, and we’re not going to take options off the table.” pic.twitter.com/ijg2K6iMv4
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) August 2, 2021
President Joe Biden’s administration was asked Monday if there was a chance for the country to lock down again, and White House press secretary Jen Psaki didn’t completely rule it out.