'Insufferable' Marjorie Taylor Greene Dragged for Insisting She Developed 'Natural Immunity' to Hantavirus After 'Refusing to Get Vaccinated' During COVID Pandemic
Marjorie Taylor Greene tweeted that she has no reason to worry about a hantavirus outbreak.
May 7 2026, Published 6:30 p.m. ET
Former Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene has been dragged for reposting an already-debunked conspiracy theory that the medication Ivermectin can be used to treat the hantavirus, which has been spreading across the globe after a breakout on a cruise ship, RadarOnline.com can report.
The disgraced MAGA member shared a similarly busted theory years ago about the drug's ability to treat COVID-19.
Global Watch on for Hantavirus Symptoms
The former representative supported a debunked treatment theory that was circulated during the pandemic.
Residents of several countries, including the United States, are all being closely watched for a rare strain of hantavirus, after either disembarking from or coming into contact with people who traveled on the MV Hondius.
The Oceanwide Expeditions cruise ship was nearing the end of a 30-day Arctic adventure when some passengers became ill. Three later died.
Hantavirus is typically a rodent-borne virus, like the one that led to the death of Gene Hackman's wife, Betsy Arakawa. But this particular strain is identified as the Andes virus, which can be transmitted from human to human.
Health officials in five U.S. states have reported the return of locals who were aboard the ship, but no cases have been documented in America as of yet.
Marjorie Taylor Greene's Wild Theory
At least five people became ill on the ship.
Still, while the disease virus may not be spreading, panic is, with many already likening the outbreak to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and looking for ways to protect themselves.
On Wednesday, May 6, a controversial doctor tweeted that "Hantavirus is a RNA virus, and ivermectin should work against it," while arguing that "ivermectin blocks RNA viruses from entering the nucleus, inhibits viral replication, disrupts integrity of the viral membrane and can prevent viral replication."
Ivermectin is most commonly used as a dewormer for livestock. The doctor, Mary Talley Bowden, was reprimanded by the Texas Medical Board for prescribing the medicine to a COVID patient in 2021.
But that didn't stop Greene, who took the tweet and ran with it, reposting it while gloating about treating this outbreak the same way she did with COVID.
"Those of us who refused to lockdown, mask up, and get vaxxed took the good ole horse paste and also developed natural immunity," she boasted, suggesting COVID conspiracy buffs should be unaffected by hantavirus.
'Misinformation Spreads'
Experts stress this strain of hantavirus is not another COVID.
According to one infectious disease specialist who spoke to Forbes, there is no data to support the claim that ivermectin can treat hantavirus in human patients, and he is warning against such "misinformation" that she fears can "cause confusion, prevent people from following the recommendations that can actually help them, and can hurt people."
"There are a lot of cases where ivermectin is the right drug, but certainly not hantavirus cases, where we have no evidence it will help," Dr. Dana Mazo, an infectious disease specialist at Tisch Hospital in New York, said.
Critics of the former congresswoman were quick to pile on online.
"Oh God. Just when I thought you might actually have a few brain cells that were functioning. This is absolute junk science," one person slammed on X. "Whatever respect I was starting to have for you was just lost entirely and completely forever."
Another railed: "What’s sad is you just gained a lot of support with a bunch of people. Now you’re just making yourself look like the idiot people remembered you as."
One user raged, "Please don't start this insufferable bulls--- again..."
Never Miss an
Daily updates from the heart of Hollywood, right to your inbox
By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you’re agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
Not Another Pandemic Problem
People should be aware, but not alarmed.
Officials say there is no reason for Americans to worry at this time, but they should be aware of their surroundings and who they come into contact with.
"The overall risk to the public remains markedly low," infectious disease expert Dr. Sukrut Dwivedi of Hackensack Meridian Ocean University Medical Center told USA TODAY. "The Andes strain has shown limited human transmission in South America, which is why it draws attention, but there is no evidence of sustained spread in the United States."
In the latest World Health Organization briefing, Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove explained hantavirus is very different from coronavirus and stressed it does not spread the same way.
"I want to be unequivocal here: this is not SARS-CoV-2. This is not the start of a COVID pandemic," she said. "This is an outbreak that we see on a ship (and) there's a confined area... But this is not the same situation we were in six years ago."
