US rock band The Offspring dumps drummer for refusing Covid vaccine

Pete Parada of The Offspring performs during the second and final day of Warped Tour on June 30, 2019 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Parada says The Offspring has removed him from the group because he refused to get a Covid vaccine. Photo: TNS

Rock band The Offspring have booted drummer Pete Parada from the group because he refused to get a Covid vaccine, according to Parada.

“Given my personal medical history and the side-effect potential of these jabs, my doctor has advised me not to get a shot at this time,” Parada said in an Instagram post.

The 48-year-old drummer added that he got Covid about a year ago and had only mild symptoms. He said he’s more concerned about “another post-vaccination round of Guillain-Barre Syndrome,” which he’s had since childhood.

Parada said he consulted with his doctor and his family before determining the risks of vaccination outweighed the benefits.

“Since I am unable to comply with what is increasingly becoming an industry mandate — it has recently been determined that I am unsafe to be around, in the studio, and on tour,” he wrote. “I mention this because you won’t be seeing me at these upcoming shows.”

Parada said he had no hard feelings for the other Offspring band members and wished them the best on their upcoming tour. He encouraged people to recognise that unvaccinated people are “not a monolithic group”.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, limited research has shown no increased risk after getting a Covid-19 vaccine for people with Guillain-Barre Syndrome, which is an autoimmune disorder in which a person’s immune system attacks the nerves. - New York Daily News/Tribune News Service