Texas Gov. Issues New Ban On COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates After FDA’s Pfizer Approval
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More than 14,200 Texans are currently hospitalized with the coronavirus, the highest number since the pandemic began.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) on Wednesday issued a new executive order prohibiting vaccine mandates across the state after the Food and Drug Administration gave its full approval to the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 inoculation earlier this week. The new measure expands on an earlier order from the governor, which prohibited any vaccine mandates if a product is being used under an emergency use authorization, as all three of the COVID-19 vaccines in use in the U.S. were until this week. The FDA’s decision was a key moment in the nation’s effort to beat back the pandemic, with public health officials championing the news as encouragement for about 90 million eligible Americans that have yet to be inoculated. Abbott’s updated ban comes despite surging rates of new coronavirus infections both in Texas and across the nation linked to the highly transmissible delta variant. He also called on the legislature to vote it into law during its ongoing special session.More Related News