Matthew McConaughey says he's not 'against vaccinating kids at all' after backlash

Matthew McConaughey is looking to clarify his position on vaccinating children against COVID-19 after facing criticism for revealing he's "not vaccinating mine" yet.

The actor, who has floated a run for governor of Texas, told The New York Times this week he's not yet in favor of mandating COVID-19 vaccines for younger children and that "right now, I'm not vaccinating mine" because "I still want to find out more information." After his quote sparked backlash, McConaughey criticized media coverage of the comments on Instagram and clarified he was specifically talking about mandating vaccines for children between the ages of five and 11. McConaughey also said his oldest son has been vaccinated against COVID-19.

"What is not true, and insinuated with the click bait headlines since, is that I am against vaccinating kids at all," McConaughey wrote. "This is false. In fact, our eldest 13 year old son Levi is fully vaccinated for COVID-19."

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McConaughey quickly faced criticism for his original comments, with The Atlantic's Norman Ornstein labeling him an "absolute idiot" and epidemiology assistant professor Dr. Ellie Murray writing, "Personally, I am coming out against Matthew McConaughey, now." The comments even drew a response from U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy.

"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 told CNN. "...So please consider strongly getting your children vaccinated."