Matthew McConaughey isn’t ready for young children to get a COVID-19 vaccine just yet.
The 52-year-old actor, potential Texas gubernatorial candidate and father of three kids aged 8 to 13 said he’s not yet sold on vaccine mandates for children while speaking at the New York Times’ DealBook summit.
“I couldn’t mandate having to vaccinate the younger kids,” McConaughey, who is vaccinated, said per Fox News.
“I still want to find out more information. … There will come a time where you’re going to have to roll the dice one way or the other and go: ‘Where are the numbers in my favor?’”
He added that he’s choosing not to vaccinate his own young children “right now” but later clarified his son, Levi, 13, has received shots.
The CDC recently authorized Pfizer BioNTech’s vaccine for emergency use in children ages 5-11, which immediately made millions of young ones eligible. According to NBC, 900,000 in that age group received their first COVID-19 shot within the first week of eligibility, and 700,000 more have appointments to do so.
McConaughey may be hesitant to vaccinate young kids, but he’s also wary of COVID-19 misinformation.
“Do I think that there’s any kind of scam or conspiracy theory? Hell no, I don’t,” he said, adding that the public should “get off” such a narrative and insisting again that “there’s not a conspiracy theory on the vaccines.”
“I’m vaccinated. My wife’s vaccinated,” he stated before explaining that he “chose” to get a vaccine because his 90-year-old immunocompromised mother stays with his family.
McConaughey later clarified his statement in the wake of media coverage of his comments, per People:
On Wednesday, the 52-year-old actor shared a message on his Instagram Story to clear up a misunderstanding after he said earlier this week that he wants “to find out more information” before supporting any requirements that young children get the shot.
“When asked my opinion on the subject of children and vaccination mandates I stated, ‘I couldn’t mandate it for kids just yet.’ What was not clear is that I was referring specifically to the 5-11 year old mandate,” he explained.
McConaughey continued, “What is NOT true, and insinuated with the clickbait headlines since, is that I am against vaccinating children at all. This is false. In fact, our eldest 13-year-old son Levi is fully vaccinated for COVID-19.”
The Dallas Buyers Club star also insisted that he’s taken the pandemic seriously, from quarantining “harder” in 2020 than his friends to utilizing a “heavy amount” of COVID-19 testing.
“I’m in a position though where I can do that, and I understand that not everyone can do that,” he explained.
McConaughey’s views on the pandemic have made headlines before.
After Texas Gov. Gregg Abbott announced his recovery from COVID-19 in August, McConaughey tweeted at his home state’s top official.
“Thank you for mentioning that ‘the vaccination you received made your infection brief and mild.’ Mask, vax and just keep livin.”
