Matthew McConaughey Explains Why He Doesn't Support COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate For Kids

KEY POINTS

Matthew McConaughey and his wife are fully-vaccinated against COVID-19
He said he won't mandate COVID-19 vaccination for his kids yet
He said he wants more information about the vaccine before letting his kids get it

Matthew McConaughey has opened up about his thoughts on the recent COVID-19 vaccine mandate for kids. The actor said during The New York Times’ Deal Book Summit on Tuesday that he is not anti-vaccine but would want more information before supporting any requirements to inoculate young children.

“We just said we can vaccinate kids. I want to trust in the science,” he said. “Do I think that there’s any kind of scam or conspiracy theory? Hell no I don’t. We all got to get off that narrative. There’s not a conspiracy theory on the vaccines,” he continued.

McConaughey’s statement comes a week after the Centers for Disease Control officially authorized Pfizer’s vaccine for use in children ages 5 to 11. While McConaughey and his wife Camila are fully-vaccinated, he said they had chosen to “go slow” with vaccinating their children Levi, 13, Livingston, 8, and Vida, 11.

“Right now, I’m not vaccinating my young children, I’ll tell you that,” he said. “I didn’t do it because someone told me I had to. I chose to do it,” he added.

He also emphasized that he and his family have taken COVID-19 quite seriously and have relied on at-home testing to make sure everyone in the family is safe. He also stressed that he even made sure his 90-year-old mother Kay, who is immunocompromised and has been staying with them since the start of the pandemic, got the vaccine. “We quarantined harder than any of our friends have and still are two years later,” he said.

Despite that, McConaughey said he’s not in a position where he could just let his children get the vaccine. “I couldn’t mandate having to vaccinate the younger kids. I still want to find out more information,” he said.

“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,” he explained.

Inoculations of children 5 to 11 years of age started across the country on Thursday.