Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, likely bowing to pressure from pro-healthcare freedom primary opponents Allen West and Don Huffines, has signed an executive order he says will ban employers from enacting vaccine mandates in the state.
“The COVID-19 vaccine is safe, effective, and our best defense against the virus, but should remain voluntary and never forced,” wrote Abbott in a press release. Fox News explains that the order prevents “any entity” in Texas from requiring someone to receive a COVID-19 vaccine “who objects to such a vaccination for any reason of personal conscience.” It applies to “both employees and consumers” who do not want the vaccine because of “religious beliefs, or for medical reasons, including prior recovery from COVID-19.”
The order will “supersede any conflicting order” by local jurisdictions, effectively banning vaccine mandates in the state. Abbott also authorized entities that disobey the executive order to receive the “maximum fine” allowed under Texas law.
Abbott’s move comes after intense criticism during a crowded primary. When greeted with the news, former Texas legislator Don Huffines wrote in a statement, “When I tell Texans I’m serious about protecting their God-given liberties I mean it. As Governor, I will ensure no Texan is ever fired for refusing to take a vaccine.” Huffines added, “I am very pleased to see that our campaign has forced Greg Abbott to reverse his position on this important issue.”
Huffines later added that “Greg Abbott is a political windsock and today proves it.” He wrote that Abbott “knows which way the wind is blowing” and that his voters “are tired of the vaccine mandates and tired of him being a failed leader.”
Official statement from Don Huffines: pic.twitter.com/SYh0szGXZW
— Don Huffines (@DonHuffines) October 11, 2021
Greg Abbott is a political windsock and today proves it.
He knows which the way the wind is blowing. He knows conservative Republican voters are tired of the vaccine mandates and tired of him being a failed leader.
— Don Huffines (@DonHuffines) October 11, 2021
Another challenger, Allen West, was recently hospitalized with COVID-19. From the hospital, West urged skepticism toward the vaccines.
“I noticed this weekend especially that the government is running propaganda commercials of people who lost loved ones to COVID saying they wish they had taken the shot,” wrote West. “This level of manipulative deception must end.”
He questioned protocols like “Regeneron monoclonal antibody infusion therapy” and “Budesonide nebulizer treatments” are being deemphasized alongside “zinc” and “D3, vitamin C, Hydroxychloroquine, and yes, ivermectin?”
West assured his followers that he is “not a conspiracy theorist” but noted “something very nefarious is at work here, and the innocent blood of Texans are on some dirty, corrupt hands.” He then promised that, “as Govenror of Texas, I will find those hands and ensure they’re held accountable.” He promised changes to agencies including Texas’s “Medical, Pharmacy, and Nursing boards.”
“I want to make sure the Texas Medical Board, Texas Nursing Board, Texas Pharmacy Board never interfere and get in the way with what’s best for you and the relationship with you and your doctor,” West later said in a Facebook video. He also said pressuring people to “get a certain shot” is the wrong strategy.
10/ There will certainly be changes coming to agencies such as the Texas Medical, Pharmacy, and Nursing boards. God's blessings, Lt. Col. Allen West
— Allen West (@AllenWest) October 11, 2021
It seems as though Abbott, now facing a crowded primary and recently criticized in a letter from President Donald Trump over election integrity, is now playing a game of catch up to make his policies match those his voters desire.
