Governor Greg Abbott said vaccines should be voluntary
Texas Governor Greg Abbott has issued an executive order banning companies - including private ones - from implementing a vaccine mandate. The order follows a similar one from the official that prohibits government entities from requiring vaccine mandate or passports.
"No entity in Texas can compel receipt of a COVID-19 vaccine by any individual, including an employee or a 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," read the executive order.
Failure to comply to the order will result in fines, according to the directive. Abbott said that while vaccines are strongly encouraged to those who are eligible to receive them, it must "always be voluntary for Texans." The governor also attributed the order to the countless of Texans who are afraid of losing their livelihoods because they refuse to get vaccinated.
The ban on vaccine mandates came despite President Joe Biden's sweeping order to companies who have more than 100 workers to have their staff vaccinated or tested weekly for COVID-19.
Read more: Biden's divisive vaccine mandate a 'tricky policy to implement'
But Abbott - who himself is vaccinated - called the upcoming rule as an "instance of federal overreach."
"The Biden Administration is now bullying many private entities into imposing COVID-19 mandates, causing workforce disruptions that threaten Texas's continued recovery from the COVID-19 disaster," Abbott said.
The Texas governor also previously attempted to ban face masks in public schools and government offices, which were defied by some educational institutions, CBS reported.
