Samuel Case, FISM News
Texas Governor Gregg Abbott signed an executive order on Monday banning vaccine mandates, including those for private businesses. This is the Governor’s second order barring vaccine mandates in the state. In August, Abbott had already banned vaccine mandates by state or local government entities.
The latest order says 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.”
On Twitter Abbott announced the ban, saying, “The COVID-19 vaccine is safe, effective, & our best defense against the virus, but should always remain voluntary & never forced”:
I issued an Executive Order prohibiting vaccine mandates by ANY entity in Texas.
I also added the issue to the Special Session agenda.
The COVID-19 vaccine is safe, effective, & our best defense against the virus, but should always remain voluntary & never forced. pic.twitter.com/8hHHLyebCk
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) October 11, 2021
In the order Abbott took a swipe at President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandate, calling it “yet another instance of federal 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.
As of this week, Biden’s vaccine mandate for companies with over 100 employees remains unenforced by the federal government. The Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA), the administrative agency directed by the president to penalize companies that do not comply with the mandate, is still drafting the rule. Official details are expected to be announced later this fall.