Aaron Rodgers says he regrets making comment about being 'immunized'

New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers said he regrets misleading comments he made during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic concerning his vaccination status.

In an unauthorized biography titled "Out of the Darkness: The Mystery of Aaron Rodgers" that will be released next week, Rodgers admitted that he regretted his comments made in August 2021, when he was a member of the Green Bay Packers, that he had been "immunized" against the virus. His statement came in response to a question asking if he had been vaccinated, leading to the widespread belief that he had been vaccinated.

Rodgers later tested positive for COVID-19 in November 2021, triggering the NFL's protocols for quarantine and time away from football. Since the protocols were different and more rigorous for unvaccinated players, Rodgers' facing stiffer requirements revealed that he had in fact not been vaccinated.

"If there's one thing I wish could have gone different, it's that, because that's the only thing (critics) could hit me with," Rodgers said in the book, according to ESPN.

After testing positive, Rodgers made one of his regularly scheduled appearances on "The Pat McAfee Show" and attempted to explain his reasoning. He said then that he learned he was allergic to polyethylene glycol, an ingredient in the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines. He also said he had concerns about the Johnson & Johnson vaccines after reports surfaced of adverse reactions and side effects.

"But if I could do it again, I would have said (in August), (expletive) the appeal. I'm just going to tell them I'm allergic to PEG, I'm not getting Johnson & Johnson, I'm not going to be vaxxed,' " Rodgers said in the book.

In April 2023, the Packers traded Rodgers to the Jets, the team owned by Woody Johnson, an heir to the Johnson & Johnson pharmaceutical who previously served as chairman and CEO of the company.

"I had an immunization card from my holistic doctor, which looked similar," Rodgers said. "I wasn't trying to pawn it off as a vaccine card, but I said, 'Listen, here's my protocol. Here's what you can follow to look this up.' And it was an ongoing appeal. So, if I had just said (I was unvaccinated) in the moment, there's no chance that the appeal would have been handled the exact same way."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Aaron Rodgers regrets 'immunized' comment during COVID pandemic