Texas Gov. Greg Abbott bans COVID-19 vaccine mandates regardless of a shot's FDA approval status

Greg Abbott.
(Image credit: Lynda M. Gonzalez-Pool/Getty Images)

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) on Wednesday issued an executive order banning COVID-19 vaccine mandates regardless of a vaccine's FDA approval status, the Texas Tribune reports. His previous executive order also prohibited COVID vaccine mandates, but only for shots under emergency use authorization.

The decision comes just one day after Pfizer-BioNTech's Comirnaty received full FDA approval, a certification many health officials and lawmakers hoped would encourage shot mandates and curb vaccine hesitancy. Instead, writes the Tribune, Abbott's message is the opposite: "No governmental entity can compel any individual to receive a COVID-19 vaccine," regardless of approval from the FDA. Exceptions are preserved for places like nursing homes and state-supported living centers, per the Tribune.

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Brigid Kennedy

Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.