Sorry, can’t find any better sources for this.
The animator then asked Maher what the “downside” of “getting a vaccine” was, which caused the comedian to go on an anti-vax tirade.
“The fact that you the fact that you don’t even have a clue what’s the cost of getting a vaccine that you don’t know the answer to that. You completely want to shut your eyes to the fact that there are repercussions to all medical interventions, including a vaccine, all vaccines,” he ranted. “They come, they say side effects, just like every medication does. You can see it in the literature. They can’t write it on their back on the vaccine. So you have to dig them. And of course, there is a vaccine court because so many people have been injured.”
Having watched him decades ago and really liking him I can say he most definitely changed. He leans far more conservative and does not ride the fence like he used to. Granted times have changed and his schtick has gotten old. Playing a good devil’s advocate can be entertaining even if I personally am over it.
Yeah he always had the antivax views, but the “I believe in science” crowd was content to brush it off because he was big with the New Atheism thing, and it didn’t have the significance at the time. He was also a cannabis advocate, in favor of gay marriage, and had many other liberal libertarian opinions that were popular at the time from the Democrat base. I remember seeing his book on the shelf of my educated well-read lesbian friend in late 00s, and I don’t know why I remember this because it wasn’t remarkable at all, maybe because it was my first exposure to a friend’s political opinions rather than it being Maher specifically.