This week, Matthew McConaughey took part in the New York Times’ Dealbook summit, where he tried to sound like a sentient bongo drum who will run for governor of Texas. MM said words about vaccines, and while he did say that he and his wife are vaccinated, he also said that “I couldn’t mandate having to vaccinate the younger kids. I still want to find out more information.” His aim was to appease “the science people” who know that vaccines are the only way we’re going to get out of this hellish pandemic, while also throwing some red meat at the anti-vaxx people. Well, obviously, it backfired and so MM had to clarify his stance on his IG Stories:
Taking to his Instagram Story, Matthew shared with his followers that he would like to find out more information about how the vaccine would affect young children and why it needs to be a mandate. However, he also wants to clear up that one of his children is vaccinated, like he and his wife, Camila Alves, are.
“When asked my opinion on the subject of children and vaccination mandates I stated, ‘I couldn’t mandate it for kids just yet.’ What was not clear is that I was referring specifically to the 5-11 year old mandate,” he explained. “What is NOT true, and insinuated with the clickbait headlines since, is that I am against vaccinating children at all. This is false. In fact, our eldest 13-year-old son Levi is fully vaccinated for COVID-19.”
Matthew ended his statement, saying, “I appreciate the ear and clarity,” telling his followers to “just keep livin’.”
He was relatively clear about it at the Dealbook summit, he’s against mandating vaccines for children. He doesn’t believe schools should have vaccine mandates. He doesn’t believe counties or states should have vaccine mandates for kids, even though nearly every state mandates vaccines for kids in public schools for stuff like mumps, rubella, measles, etc. Why is he underlining that point about Covid vaccines? His words just add more fuel to the anti-vaxx fire that there’s something “wrong” with the Covid vaccines and that it’s wrong to vaccinate children by mandate.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
Oh bullshit, he’s just trying to have it both ways. He needs to STFU, fast.
I cannot deal with his potential gubernatorial run. Too many people project savior qualities onto him because he’s a celebrity and not Greg Abbott.
He is such an idiot. I really hoped that disastrous interview he did a few months ago was the end of his political career. Dare to have the confidence of a mediocre white man!
Dare to be given the endless chances and excuses!
Nothing ends a white man’s political career anymore.
Not sure what this is clarifying – that is what I got out of his initial interview and that’s what he’s saying now. I thought he was wrong then and I think he’s wrong now. He should just stop talking. And if people don’t get the vax, the likelihood for them to “just keep livin” goes down so dude just stfu.
We are really never gonna get out of this pandemic. Why not just say you’ve been vaccinated, encourage people to get vaccinated and move on. Instead we have celebrity after celebrity claiming to do their own “research” and fueling distrust with vaccines. Meanwhile they have the resources to survive should they get sick. That isn’t the case for the regular folks who are being devastated by Covid.
But I guess at this point those who want to get the vaccine already have so maybe he’s just adding more noise to an already loud room.
There has been a series of unintelligent people having done their own “research.” Googling is not “research,” people.
Nor is YouTube or Facebook, which is where these selfish a-holes are “doing their own research.” It’s all so maddening.
Yeah, can you imagine doing COVID research and NOT visiting the CDC, medical journals, institutes of health, library of medicine, et al?
Yeah got that the first time dude. Clarifying doesn’t help anything. And I don’t think stating his opinion adds anything to the conversation around covid and vaccines.
Like I said on the other post, he’s trying to have it both ways. And I don’t know who he thinks is going to vote for him here in Texas. He’s not a centrist, he’s really just showing that he’s uneducated and hasn’t clearly laid out his platform.
They just announced a $600+ million settlement for the people affected by the Flint water contamination. The majority of the money is specifically being set aside for the youngest people, 18 and under. Some money is even set aside for children not even born yet. Because they recognize that the younger you are, the longer your life is affected by this poisoned water.
It’s the same with COVID. The youngest are the ones we should be protecting the most because they have the most to lose! I really don’t understand parents who refuse to vaccinate their kids or have them wear masks. We were so careful about protecting grandparents, and making sure they got vaccinated. But now don’t care about the kids who still have an entire life still to live? What has gone wrong in our society?
I agree. I don’t understand it at all either.
Technically what he’s saying makes zero sense: it took the pharmaceutical companies, scientists, doctors, governments, etc,… LONGEST to ascertain whether vaccines were 1. Necessary, and 2. Safe for young children. After judging the risk of the corona virus to young children themselves (including hospitalization and death), the threat of kids passing the virus on to vulnerable people, the cost risk-benefit profile, etc,… the experts of various different disciplines and backgrounds of many, many different nationalities in the world have come to the exact same conclusion: Yes, immunizing young children is necessary! The vaccine dose is even different for smaller kids… What additional information does this actor possibly that he cannot already access? Absolutely frustrating!!
As Forrest Gump would say,”Stupid is as stupid does, Matthew. Better get your kids vaccinated.”
Kids under 11 years old have died of Covid. There was a 4 year old girl who died OVERNIGHT after her stupid parents, unvaccinated, got COVID. Of course, they set up a GOFUNDME. Protect your kids from hospitalization and death, assholes. It’s true that 5 to 11 year olds can get COVID vaccines now, but not kids under 5 years old. So that’s why YOU as parents get yourselves vaccinated so as not to visit death on your (and other people’s kids) because of your bone-headed, asinine decisions. Just crap.
So he and his wife are not giving their youngest child the same protection they and their older child have? Parenting fail, and how is the younger child supposed to understand this?
Every “explanation” makes it worse.
Imagine knowing that a vaccine exists that could protect your young child from getting sick and potentially dealing with terrible side effects of that illness for the rest of their lives, or worse – from dying a frightening and prolonged death and thinking that it was a risk you were willing to take on their behalf because you “wanted to do your own research”. You know, because you just knew a little more than actual scientists.
That makes you a bad, irresponsible parent.
PS. Your precious darlings can still be little plague carriers that can give the virus to other people who may not be able to get the vaccine.
Texas needs a politically conscious governor and MM is not it.
This is a guy who is famous for saying “Alright, alright, alright.” If people are listening to him, it is because he’s saying what they already believe, not because he is at all credible or in a position to even provide credible medical information.
This whole ‘I should be free to do whatever I want with my children’ anti-vaxx movement is shameful. Educate yourselves and protect your children – but that would mean actually giving a sh*t about something other than yourself and I guess that’s just too much to expect from these folks.
Vaccines are part of public health & safety and these entitled, ignorant trash heaps are a threat to our collective safety, but the fact that they are using children’s rights as a guise and their own actual children as human shields against a deadly virus is beyond shameful. My heart has hardened against them.
Matthew to QAaron alright alright hold my beer.
People in the United States give too much credit to celebrity and/or wealth. This dude is a f’in actor. While I dig that in a democracy, anyone can and should be able to run for office, why is it even a QUESTION that anyone aside from medical experts/researchers/doctors be giving statements on public health? What the actual f? His proper role as a potential public authority is to… cede authority where appropriate, such as in matters of public health.
I mean this sort of s*** is why we ended up with Trump. Celebrity somehow gives people a platform on matters not affiliated with the basis of their celebrity. It is ridiculous.