Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued an executive order on Monday banning COVID-19 vaccination mandates across the state, including to employees and consumers.
Abbott also asked the Texas legislature to pass a law to the same effect, requesting that it be reviewed in the Senate before the legislative session concludes on October 19.
“No entity in Texas may require proof of COVID-19 vaccination from any individual, including an employee or consumer, who objects to receiving such a vaccine for any reason of personal conscience, religious belief, or for medical reasons, including the prior recovery from COVID-19 ”, reads the order issued by Abbott this Monday afternoon.
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Greg Abbott, the governor of Texas, at a press conference in Rio Grande on September 21, 2021. Julio Cortez / AP
The Republican governor had already banned COVID-19 vaccination mandates from state public authorities, including government agencies, cities, counties, and school districts.
The Texas Congress also passed a law
banning so-called vaccine passports,
which many businesses use to make sure they are providing services only to customers who have already been immunized against the coronavirus.
However, until now Texas had allowed private companies to require all their employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19, which has changed with this new executive order.
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Abbott said in a statement Monday that "the COVID-19 vaccine is safe, effective, and is our best defense against the virus, but it should remain voluntary and never mandatory."
The Texas governor clarified that his new order comes in response to the Biden Administration's federal vaccination mandate, which requires all companies with more than 100 employees to ensure that their workers are immunized against the coronavirus.
Biden's measure has yet to go into effect, but the president has urged employers not to wait to implement it.
Abbott, who has also rejected mandates for mandatory use of the mask in public spaces, called Biden's move an overreach of executive power.
