Actor Matthew McConaughey said Tuesday that he does not support mandating coronavirus vaccinations for his children despite the Food and Drug Administration last week authorizing the Pfizer-BioNTech's shot for emergency use in kids ages 5 to 11.
He said at The New York Times's DealBook summit that he "couldn't mandate having to vaccinate the younger kids" and that he still wants to "find out more information."
The 52-year-old noted that, "as of right now," he would not have his children get the vaccine. He and his wife have three children, ages 13, 11 and 8.
McConaughey also pointed out that while he is not against vaccinations and that he himself has received the shot, he does not support a mandate.
"I'm vaccinated. My wife's vaccinated. I didn't do it because someone told me I had to — [I] chose to do it," he told a reporter for The Times.
He went on to emphasize that he does not believe in "any kind of scam or conspiracy theory" surrounding the vaccine, adding that everyone needs to "get off that narrative."
McConaughey, who said he received the vaccine because his 90-year-old mother is immunocompromised, said he has "quarantined harder" than his friends and that his family used a "heavy amount" of coronavirus testing during the pandemic.
"I'm in a position though where I can do that, and I understand that not everyone can do that," he said.
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The Academy Award-winner also spoke on the new abortion ban in Texas, where he hinted at a possible run to be the state's next governor.
McConaughey called the legislation, which is facing a Supreme Court challenge, "overly aggressive."
"It doesn't doesn't seem to open up the room for a sensible choice to be made at the right time," he said. "I believe in this: more responsibility, more personal responsibility to make the right choices. And we got to pick context with each situation, and each person's situation, each woman's situation."
The Lone Star State's ban prohibits abortions once a heartbeat is detected and allows private citizens to sue anyone who assisted a woman in getting the procedure.
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