Gov. Greg Abbott issued an executive order barring private companies in Texas from mandating COVID-19 vaccines

• Gov. Greg Abbott signed an executive order barring Texas entities from requiring COVID-19 vaccines.
• The order would apply to private businesses.

Gov. Greg Abbott signed an executive order on Monday barring any Texas entity, including private businesses, from issuing COVID-19 vaccine mandates.

"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," Abbott said in the order.

Abbott also called on the Texas legislature to enshrine the ban into state law.

In a statement, Abbott, who has been vaccinated, said the vaccines were safe and encouraged those who were eligible to get them but said they should be voluntary.

As The Texas Tribune noted, a previous executive order had already barred government agencies, cities, counties, and school districts from imposing COVID-19 vaccine requirements.

The executive order is likely to put Texas up against the federal government after President Joe Biden last month announced plans to require private businesses with more than 100 employees to require COVID-19 vaccination or weekly testing.

"In yet another instance of federal government overreach, the Biden Administration is now bullying many private entities into imposing COVID-19 vaccine mandates, causing workforce disruptions that threaten Texas's continued recovery from the COVID-19 disaster," Abbott said in the order.

Several Texas-based companies, including the major airlines American and Southwest, have said they'd abide by Biden's mandate, CBS News reported.

Abbott has imposed a string of measures designed to loosen public-health measures during the pandemic. He has previously banned mask mandates and proof-of-vaccination requirements.

State data indicates that close to 63% of the eligible population in Texas is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, compared with 66% across the country. According to The New York Times' database, as of Monday the state had reported averages of 7,571 cases a day and 251 deaths a day over the past week.

According to Becker's Hospital Review, as of Monday, Texas had reported the ninth-most COVID-19 deaths per 100,000 people of any US state.