Governor Abbott bans vaccine mandates in Texas on Monday. He issued an executive order attempting to crack down on COVID-19 vaccine mandates
“The COVID-19 vaccine is safe, effective, and our best defense against the virus, but should remain voluntary and never forced,” Abbott said in a press release Monday.
Governor Abbott’s executive order states that “any entity” in the state is prohibited from compelling an individual to receive the COVID-19 vaccine “who objects to such vaccination for any reason of personal conscience.”
His executive order applies to not only employers but also consumers due to “religious belief, or for medical reasons, including prior recovery from COVID-19.”
“The Covid vaccine should always remain voluntary and never forced,” Abbott said.
“Abbott issued an executive order stating that no entity in Texas can compel receipt of a Covid-19 vaccination by any individual, including an employee or consumer, who objects to such vaccination for any reason of personal conscience, based on a religious belief, or for medical reasons, including prior recovery from Covid-19,” the governor’s office announced.
“In yet another instance of federal government overreach, the Biden Administration is now bullying many private entities into imposing COVID-19 vaccine mandates, causing workforce disruptions that threaten Texas’s continued recovery from the COVID-19 disaster,” Abbott said of that order at the time.
Currently, 52% of Texas residents are fully vaccinated.
Abbott said he will also add the issue to the Special Session agenda and rescind the executive order upon the passage of legislation.
This newest executive order comes just a few months after Governor Abbott banned vaccine mandates for government employees.
That order was issued just two days after the FDA granted full approval to the Pfizer vaccine.
Governo Abbott’s vaccine mandate ban is in vast contrast to Texas’s Western neighbor California. Los Angeles City Council recently passed a vaccine mandate for most indoor businesses.
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