Vaccine mandates are still in effect around the state, despite a recent Supreme Court decision that prohibited the requirement at the state level. Gubernatorial candidate Don Huffines has stated that is not good enough.
“Despite the Supreme Court’s decision about a blanket vaccine mandate, many doctors, nurses, and those in the military still face consequences for refusing to get the vaccine,” Huffines told Houston Daily. “Greg Abbott has the power to stop these mandates, but he is unwilling to take bold action. When I am Governor, I will ban all vaccine mandates in the state of Texas, no exceptions.”
According to the Texas Tribune, health care workers and National Guard members in Texas are required to get vaccinated against COVID-19 and risk being discharged if they don’t follow protocol.
However, Gov. Greg Abbott did take some action. He issued an executive order last August prohibiting “governmental entities” from requiring individuals to receive a COVID-19 vaccine but provided an exception for nursing homes, state-supported independent living facilities and private Texas businesses, which could still necessitate vaccines for employees and customers.
"Private businesses don't need (the) government running their business,” Abbott spokesman Renae Eze told the Texas Tribune, confirming they still had the ability to require vaccination.
Abbott gave an executive order banning any company in Texas from requiring COVID-19 vaccinations, including private businesses, for employees or customers in October “who (object) to such vaccination for any reason of personal conscience, based on a religious belief, or for medical reasons, including prior recovery from COVID-19.”
Bloomberg noted that the order was a “change of heart” by Abbott that “may have been motivated by a party primary taking place in March, in which he’ll take on two challengers who consistently attack him from the right, former state Senator Don Huffines and Allen West, an ex-Florida congressman."
Gov. Abbott has been in office since 2014 and is expected to face Huffines in the gubernatorial primary on March 1.
Don Huffines is the CEO of Huffines Communities, a Dallas/Fort Worth-based real estate development firm. From 2015 to 2019 Huffines served in the Texas Senate, representing the people of Texas' 16th senate district.
