Entertainment
Matthew McConaughey reveals he’s against vaccine mandate for children: ‘I still want to find out more information’
Matthew McConaughey has explained why he doesn’t agree with a vaccine mandate for children (Picture: Getty Images/Getty Images for Global Citizen )
Matthew McConaughey has confirmed he is against government-mandated coronavirus vaccinations for children.
The 52-year-old actor explained why he would not support the mandate for kids to get the Covid-19 jab just yet while speaking at The New York Times DealBook summit on Tuesday.
‘I couldn’t mandate having to vaccinate the younger kids. I still want to find out more information,’ said the actor, who shares three children with his wife Camila.
The Interstellar actor, who previously spoke out against anti-maskers, 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 scam or conspiracy theory? Hell no. We all got to get off that narrative. There’s not a conspiracy theory on the vaccines.’
The Dazed and Confused actor then hinted that he wasn’t completely opposed to potentially allowing sons Levi, 13, and Livingston, eight, and daughter Vida, 11, from being vaccinated in the future.
Matthew shares three children with his wife, Camila (Picture: Noam Galai/Getty Images for HISTORY)
‘Right now I’m not vaccinating mine, I’ll tell you that,’ Matthew added.
The Fool’s Gold actor made the comments after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized the Pfizer vaccine for emergency use in children aged between five to 11.
Matthew also pointed out that his family had been able to quarantine extensively during 2020 and claimed that they relied on a ‘heavy amount’ of Covid-19 testing to limit the chances of infection.
Matthew (Picture: Gary Miller/Getty Images)
‘I’m in a position though where I can do that, and I understand that not everyone can do that,’ he explained.
Surgeon General Vivek Murthy responded to McConaughey on CNN later on Tuesday, saying that vaccinating children was important because ‘Covid is not harmless’ to them.
More: US Showbiz news
There have been 680 children under the age 18 who have died from Covid-19 during the pandemic as of November 3, according to the CDC. Many had underlying health issues.
Nationally, around 67.5 per cent of Americans have received at least one dose of the vaccine.
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.
MORE : Eric Clapton breaks his own anti-vax vow and performs at venue with a vaccine mandate after all
