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Hollywood actor Matthew McConaughey has expressed hesitancy to get his kids vaccinated.
McConaughey confirmed that his children are not vaccinated.
Going further, McConaughy says he opposes mandating vaccines for children.
The Biden administration is currently making a push to boost the number of Covid-19 vaccination sites for children.
The CDC has also endorsed a recommendation to vaccinate children ages 5-11 with Pfizer’s two-dose course.
McConaughey responded, “I couldn’t mandate having to vaccinate the younger kids.”
“I still want to find out more information,” he added.
As of “right now,” McConaughey said he’s not vaccinating his own children.
US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy has since pleaded with McConaughey by saying, “Please consider strongly getting your children vaccinated.”
Murthy told parents to realize 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.
“And the vaccines have shown in these trials for children 5 through 11 they are more at 90% effective in protecting our kids from symptomatic infection, and they are remarkably safe as well.”
“When we began the vaccination effort for adults, actually a few months before we had the vaccine available, if you looked at polls they showed about a third or so of adults were ready to go out and get the vaccine right away.”
“What changed, though, is then the FDA and CDC weighed in. People saw their friends and family get vaccinated,” Murthy said.
“People also recognized they were getting protected, and they got the chance to talk to their doctors about the vaccine. All of that is going to start happening now with vaccines for children, as well.”
McConaughey said he’s “measuring” the prospect of a gubernatorial run in Texas for governor.
“I’m measuring it,” he said of running for office on a podcast in September.
“Look, it’s going to be in some capacity… I just — I’m more of a folksy and philosopher poet statesman than I am a, per se, definitive politician.”
McConaughey concluded, “So I go, well, that’s a reason not to, but then I go, no, that’s exactly why you should, because politics needs redefinition, but I’m measuring, you know, what is my category? What’s my embassy?”
Texas Governor Greg Abbott has issued executive orders banning all state entities, including private employers, from enforcing vaccine mandates.
