Why Matthew McConaughey's Remarks About The COVID-19 Vaccine Have Twitter In A Tizzy

It's no secret that many people in the country are divided on whether or not the Covid-19 vaccine, which has been approved for ages five and up per FDA recommendations, should be mandated. Celebrities including Steve Martin, Julia Roberts, Ariana Grande and Lizzo have encouraged fans to get the shot (per US Weekly). Now, Oscar-winning actor Matthew McConaughey has shared his opinion on the subject. During The New York Times's DealBook summit, McConaughey revealed that not only has he decided not to vaccinate his children, but he is also against mandating the vaccine for younger kids. "I couldn't mandate having to vaccinate the younger kids. I still want to find out more information," he said (per Newsweek).

McConaughey remarks come as the actor is considering a run for governor of Texas in 2022. He noted, however, that he is not anti-vaccination, just against mandates. "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 explained, adding that he doesn't believe in any of the conspiracy theories being floated around about the vaccine. "Do I think that there's any kind of scam or conspiracy theory? Hell no. We all got to get off that narrative. There's not a conspiracy theory on the vaccines," he said.

His stance, though, has many in the medical community seeing red.

Matthew McConaughey's current stance on mandating the Covid-19 vaccine for children has irked the medical community, with many posting their unhappiness with the actor on social media. "Not right, not right, not right (*instead of 'Alright, alright, alright') Extremely disappointed to see this from @McConaughey," tweeted Joy Henningsen, MD. Pediatric doctor Alastair McAlpine added, "Right?! Especially after his turn in Dallas Buyers Club. So sad" (per Newsweek).

The surgeon general has also spoken out against McConaughey's remarks. "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," US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek 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."