[ad_1]
Governor Greg Abbott passed an executive order Monday night banning Texas companies from mandating COVID-19 vaccinations for employees or consumers, in contravention of proposed state vaccination regulations.
Abbott also urged lawmakers to address the issue during the current special legislative session to ensure that “no company in Texas can force a COVID-19 vaccine to be obtained.”
“The COVID-19 vaccine is safe, effective and our best defense against the virus, but it should be voluntary and never enforced,” Abbott said in a statement. Earlier this year, Abbott stopped government-funded companies from requiring workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
More:The COVID-19 vaccine debate brings back memories of the meningitis vaccination mandate for college in Texas
Abbott has urged Texans to get vaccinated throughout the pandemic, but has banned school districts, cities, counties and government agencies from requiring the vaccinations. Legislators passed a law earlier this year banning so-called “vaccine passports,” which means private companies can’t require customers to be vaccinated, but companies were allowed to prescribe vaccines among employees until Monday.
Abbott’s Monday arrangement appears to be partly inspired by President Joe Biden, who said in September that all private companies with more than 100 employees will soon be required to vaccinate employees or run weekly tests for the virus.
“In yet another case of federal government assaults, the Biden Administration is now urging many private entities to enact COVID-19 vaccine mandates, causing workforce disruption that threatens the continued recovery of Texas from the COVID-19 disaster.” says Abbott’s order.
More:Austin, 5 other school districts are asking the court to drop AG Ken Paxton’s anti-mask lawsuits
The order would replace any ordinance or action by local government related to vaccine mandates, but it is unclear whether it would pre-empt Biden’s actions at the federal level. Biden has also urged all federal government employees and contractors to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki criticized Abbott’s order, saying on Tuesday it was inconsistent with Texas business leaders and contradicting life-saving policies.
“Our intention is to implement these requirements across the country and continue to work on them, including in those states that are trying to oppose them,” Psaki told reporters at the press conference.
Abbott’s order and support from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for protecting employees against vaccination regulations “fit into a familiar pattern we’ve seen of putting politics above public health,” she said.
Biden is waiting for the US Occupational Safety and Health Agency to write regulations to implement his vaccine mandate for private companies, Psaki said.
More:Austin companies and Texas groups are trying to clarify Biden’s new COVID-19 vaccine mandate
“We will continue to enforce the law that the President of the United States has the ability and legal authority to do, and we will continue to work to get more people vaccinated to help overcome this pandemic. Said Psaki.
Texas-based Southwest Airlines, the country’s largest domestic airline, said it will continue to prescribe vaccines for its employees.
“Under the president’s executive order, federal measures supersede any state mandate or statute and we are expected to obey the president’s order to remain compliant as a federal contractor,” Southwest said in a statement.
According to data from the Texas Department of State Health Services, more than 62% of Texas residents over 12 years of age are fully vaccinated. That’s roughly 15.1 million people out of the state’s 29.1 million population.
The House responded to Abbott’s orders Tuesday by sending nearly a dozen GOP vaccine bills to the State Affairs Committee, but the committee followed up on just one with a public hearing on Wednesday afternoon – House Act 155.
The bill, tabled by Rep. Tom Oliverson, R-Cypress, would allow employees to exempt employees from receiving the COVID-19 vaccine based on a medical condition, religious belief, or “acquired immunity to COVID-19 through post-transmission recovery.” ” to apply. “
Several of the bills that were not scheduled for a hearing, an early step in the legislative process, would have made vaccine mandates illegal, including at least two that would make COVID-19 vaccination mandatory for employees an illegal, discriminatory business practice.
Another House GOP bill would make it a crime for a private company to require employees to have a COVID-19 vaccine, with a separate Class B offense for each worker concerned.
Another would discourage health and life insurers from denying or canceling coverage based on COVID-219 vaccination status.
[ad_2]
