Stryper frontman Michael Sweet has spoken out about regretting his decision to get the COVID-19 vaccine, and has floated the possibility, while making clear he can’t prove it, that the shots may be connected to the health problems he’s faced in recent years, namely a retinal detachment and thyroid cancer.
The singer shared his thoughts on social media one day after Dr. Anthony Fauci declined to answer senators’ questions during a contentious hearing on the origins of COVID-19 and the government’s handling of the pandemic. In his post, Sweet explained that his choice to get vaccinated came down to being able to keep working, since touring and performing in certain venues required it at the time.
He wrote:
“My biggest regret during Covid was getting the shot/shots (this is my opinion and my personal view. I’m not by any means reprehending anyone who got the shot).”
“We were told (like many) that we could not do our job, we could not perform (in certain venues) unless we had the vaccine. So, we did what we needed to continue on. To survive.”
“Although there are not a lot of articles out there on the possible correlation between the Covid vaccine and my health issues (retinal detachment & thyroid cancer),there are some. (I’ve adding a few photos to the comment section).”
“Interestingly enough, no one in my family has ever had issues with retinal detachments or thyroid cancer. After my first shot, my retina detached. A few years after that, I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer.”
“There’s really no way to prove that my health issues were caused by the vaccines but, it is very interesting to say the least.”
“I know this much – I’ll never get another Covid vaccine again”.
Sweet‘s comments reflect his own experience and personal opinion rather than any established medical finding, something he acknowledged himself in noting there is no way to prove a link. On that point, the scientific record is clear: studies have not shown that COVID-19 vaccines cause retinal detachment or thyroid cancer, and there is no credible evidence tying mRNA vaccines to the development or acceleration of cancer. If anything, emerging research points the other way, suggesting that a severe COVID-19 infection may raise the risk of developing lung cancer.
The safety data is extensive. On June 30, 2026, the medical journal The Lancet published a wide-ranging review of the billions of mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine doses administered worldwide, concluding that the vaccines are safe and effective. That same review pointed to mRNA technology’s potential as a future tool for treating and preventing other conditions, among them influenza, RSV, cancer and autoimmune diseases. Health authorities around the world continue to say the approved vaccines went through extensive safety monitoring and played a major role in reducing severe illness, hospitalization and death — while also acknowledging that, like any medical treatment, vaccines can carry a risk of side effects, which ongoing surveillance keeps tracking for rare adverse events.
As for Sweet‘s own health, the musician has navigated a difficult few years. He was diagnosed with a detached retina in late 2021 and underwent multiple eye surgeries, and he was later diagnosed with papillary thyroid cancer, for which he had thyroid surgery. There is reason for optimism on that front: according to the Columbia University Department of Surgery, papillary thyroid cancer accounts for roughly 80 percent of all thyroid cancer cases and carries the best prognosis of any form, with most patients able to be cured when treated appropriately and early.
