(OPINION) Outspoken actor Matthew McConaughey says he believes the COVID-19 vaccine should not be mandated for children. McConaughey, 52, has previously floated a possible campaign challenge to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R).
According to a report from The Hill, McConaughey said during Tuesday’s New York Times DealBook summit that he does not believe in requiring children to be vaccinated against COVID-19. “I couldn’t mandate having to vaccinate the younger kids,” the actor — who has said he has been fully vaccinated against coronavirus — said.
“I still want to find out more information.” He added, “I’m vaccinated. My wife’s vaccinated. I didn’t do it because someone told me I had to — [I] chose to do it. … Do I think that there’s any kind of conspiracy theory? Hell no. We all got to get off that narrative. There’s not a conspiracy theory on the vaccines.”
“Right now, I’m not vaccinating mine, I’ll tell you that,” he said. McConaughey shares three children, ages 13, 11, and 8, with wife Camila Alves. Following McConaughey’s remarks, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy said that parents need to recognize that “COVID is not harmless in our children.”
“Many kids have died. Sadly, hundreds of children — thousands — have been hospitalized, and as a dad of a child who has been hospitalized several years ago for another illness, I would never wish upon any parent they have a child that ends up in the hospital,” Murthy told CNN after McConaughey’s remarks made headlines. READ MORE
