Texas Governor Greg Abbott. Reuters/Lucas Jackson
Texas Governor. Greg Abbott issued a second executive order, doubling down on his ban of COVID-19 mandates.
This order prohibits any government entity from mandating any COVID-19 vaccines.
Abbott, who has been fully vaccinated was tested positive for COVID-19.
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Texas Governor Greg Abbott, Texas Governor, doubled his ban on coronavirus vaccine mandates Wednesday by issuing an executive order "maintaining our current policy prohibiting any COVID-19 vaccinations being mandatory by any government entity in the Lone Star State."
Even though the COVID-19 vaccine has been fully approved by Food and Drug Administration, the new order prohibits governments from mandating vaccinations.
Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccination was approved by the FDA earlier this week. This cast doubt on whether Abbott's July executive order, which stated that businesses and government entities could not mandate COVID-19 vaccinations under "emergency usage authorization", would still apply.
Although he is fully vaccinated for COVID-19 but was tested positive last week, the Republican governor also requested that the special session agenda be reviewed by the state legislature to address legislation regarding vaccine mandates and exemptions.
Abbott stated in a statement that "vaccine requirements and exemptions" have been historically determined by the legislature. It is important for Texas to not have a patchwork of mandates.
Abbott's order comes at a time when coronavirus cases, which are fueled by the highly transmissible Delta variant of the virus, continue to rise across the country, particularly in Texas.
According to the executive order, "No government entity can force any person to get a COVID 19 vaccination."
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