Actor Matthew McConaughey is making headlines on social media after revealing that he is against COVID-19 vaccine mandates, specifically when it comes to young children. During The New York Times DealBook summit, the Dazed and Confused actor stated he isn't opposed to vaccinations but would be against requiring them for children.
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He noted, "I couldn't mandate having to vaccinate the younger kids. I still want to find out more information." This after the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention authorized Pfizer-BioNTech's COVID Vaccinations for emergency use in children ages 5 to 11 last week.
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He continued, "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 scam or conspiracy theory? Hell no. We all got to get off that narrative. There's not a conspiracy theory on vaccines."
About his children, the 52-year-old actor added, "Right now I'm not vaccinating mine, I'll tell you that." McConaughey and his wife Camila share three children, 12-year-old Levi, 8-year-old Livingston, and 11-year-old Vida. The actor is also relieved that his 90-year-old mother, who lives with the family, is also vaccinated like him and has even received a booster shot.
For the past months, McConaughey has floated the possibility of a campaign against Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, reassuring that he isn't opposed to vaccinations, but would be against requiring them. The actor noted that he has been "quarantining harder" than most of his friends since the beginning of the pandemic last year. The actor state his family has relied heavily on COVID-19 testing, saying, "'I'm in a position though where I can do that, and I understand that not everyone can do that."
He continued, "There's gonna come a time, though — and there has already in these last two years, obviously — there'll come a time where you're gonna have to roll the dice one way or the other and go, where are the numbers in my favor? I'm vaccinated. Wife's vaccinated. ... We're over here just trying to live as healthy a lifestyle as possible, but I couldn't mandate it for kids just yet."
The actor also weighed in on the recent controversial six-week abortion ban which is currently facing a Supreme Court challenge, in which he called it "overly aggressive." He noted, "It doesn't seem to open up the room for a sensible choice to be made at the right time. I believe in this: more responsibility, more personal responsibility to make the right choices. And we got to pick context with each situation, and each person's situation, each woman's situation."
