Despite medical evidence that shows the vaccines for COVID are extremely effective at helping control the disease, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) said Sunday that he will refuse to get a vaccination for the deadly illness.

Speaking with John Catsimatidis on his WABC radio show, Paul declared that he will decline to be vaccinated because he’s already had the illness, The Hill reports:

“Until they show me evidence that people who have already had the infection are dying in large numbers, or being hospitalized or getting very sick, I just made my own personal decision that I’m not getting vaccinated because I’ve already had the disease and I have natural immunity.”

Paul, who is an ophthalmologist, tested positive for COVID-19 in March of 2020. At the time, he was the first U.S. senator to contract the disease.

The Kentucky Republican added that getting vaccinated should be a personal choice and that he believes he’s immune from coronavirus. However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that even those who have contracted COVID get vaccinated because it remains unclear how long natural immunity lasts.

Despite that, Paul was adamant about his refusal to take the vaccine:

“In a free country you would think people would honor the idea that each individual would get to make the medical decision, that it wouldn’t be a big brother coming to tell me what I have to do.

“Are they also going to tell me I can’t have a cheeseburger for lunch? Are they going to tell me that I have to eat carrots only and cut my calories? All that would probably be good for me, but I don’t think big brother ought to tell me to do it.”

Sen. Paul has also had several public confrontations with infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci during Senate hearings on federal efforts to control the spread of COVID-19, including earlier this month when Paul attempted to suggest that federal funds had been used to do research on the virus at a lab in Wuhan, China. Fauci quickly shut down Paul by telling him:

“With all due respect, you are entirely and completely incorrect that the NIH (National Institutes of Health) has not ever and does not now fund gain of function research in the Wuhan institute.”

Clearly, Dr. Paul is a doctor in title only. He certainly doesn’t act the way reputable physician would or should.

Featured Image Via NBC News