Matthew McConaughey faces backlash after voicing skepticism for child vaccine mandates

"I couldn't mandate having to vaccinate the younger kids. I still want to find out more information," McConaughey said at The New York Times DealBook Online Summit Tuesday.

ADVERTISEMENT
Image
Hannah Nightingale Washington DC
ADVERTISEMENT

Actor Matthew McConaughey is facing backlash from the US surgeon general following comments he made on Thursday expressing hesitation on vaccine mandates for the youngest group of children, 5 to 11-years-old.

"I couldn't mandate having to vaccinate the younger kids. I still want to find out more information," McConaughey said at The New York Times DealBook Online Summit Tuesday.

McConaughey himself is vaccinated, as well as his wife, mother and older child, but according to The New York Times, his two youngest children are not, with their age group only recently having been approved to receive the shot.

"We go slow on vaccinations, even before Covid," he added.

McConaughey noted that he trusted that scientists were trying "to do the right thing," but added that some narratives around the vaccine were problematic.

"Do I think that there's any kind of scam or conspiracy theory? No I don't," said McConaughey, adding that the reaction to mask mandates were exaggerated and polarized. "Early on, this whole thing got politicized," he said. "I thought that should've been a quick, easy mandate. It's a mask, it's not the vaccine."

McConaughey said that masks are "a small inconvenience for possible long-term freedom."

Following his comment about children's vaccine mandates, McConaughey clarified that he was referring to children ages five to 11, not children 12 and older. He added that he plans on thoroughly considering information about immunizing children as it becomes available.

US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy responded to McConaughey's comments, telling CNN 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's Erin Burnett on OutFront.

"And the vaccines have shown in these trials for children 5 through 11 they are more at 90 percent effective in protecting our kids from symptomatic infection, and they are remarkably safe as well," he continued.

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Join and support independent free thinkers!

We’re independent and can’t be cancelled. The establishment media is increasingly dedicated to divisive cancel culture, corporate wokeism, and political correctness, all while covering up corruption from the corridors of power. The need for fact-based journalism and thoughtful analysis has never been greater. When you support The Post Millennial, you support freedom of the press at a time when it's under direct attack. Join the ranks of independent, free thinkers by supporting us today for as little as $1.

Support The Post Millennial

Remind me next month

To find out what personal data we collect and how we use it, please visit our Privacy Policy

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
By signing up you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy
ADVERTISEMENT
© 2024 The Post Millennial, Privacy Policy | Do Not Sell My Personal Information