Texas Governor issues executive order prohibiting vaccine mandates

Governor%2C+Gregg+Abbott+has+issued+a+new+executive+order+banning+the+requirement+of+the+COVID-19+vaccine.+

Photo courtesy of The Texas Tribune

Governor, Gregg Abbott has issued a new executive order banning the requirement of the COVID-19 vaccine.

On Aug. 25, 2021, Texas Governor Greg Abbott pushed out Executive Order No. GA-39, which asserts the continual prohibition of vaccine mandates in Texas, specifically concerning the COVID-19 vaccine.

This executive order is related to Executive Orders GA-35 and GA-38, which concern COVID-19 vaccine administration under emergency use authorization (EUA) only and prohibiting government entities from mandating the vaccine and vaccine passports.

What prompted this executive order was that three days prior on Aug. 23, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 (Pfizer) vaccine, for individuals ages 16 and older. This means it is no longer under EUA only for those age groups. Pfizer is still under EUA only for ages 12 to 15 and administering a third dose to individuals who are immunocompromised. Because of the FDA approval, Pfizer is now being marketed by the new name “Comirnaty”. The Johnson and Johnson vaccine and the Moderna vaccine are still under EUA only.

Executive Order No. GA-39 is a three-page order that addresses Executive Orders GA-35 and GA-38, the new FDA approval of Comirnaty, Chapter 161 of the Texas Health and Safety Code and Chapters 38 and 51 of the Texas Education Code.

Chapter 161 of the Texas Health and Safety Code and Chapters 38 and 51 of the Texas Education Code concern the legislature’s role over vaccines and the laws of immunizations, which also include vaccine exemptions.

Texas has historically prohibited vaccine mandates and has provided exemptions with vaccines that were required. In the executive order, Governor Abbott addresses the importance of maintaining the “status quo” of Texas’ legislature by prohibiting the mandate of the COVID-19 vaccine.

“Vaccine requirements and exemptions have historically been determined by the legislature, and their involvement is particularly important to avoid a patchwork of vaccine mandates across Texas,” Governor Abbott said in the official press release.

Governor Abbott lists five orders to be effective immediately.

The first order being the suspension of Section 81.082(f)(1) of the Texas Health and Safety Code, which will ensure that no government body can compel an individual to be vaccinated for COVID-19.

The second order being the suspension of Section 81.0850(1) of the Texas Health and Safety Code, which will ensure that no state or political agency requires an individual to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination in order to enter a building or receive a service.  

Similar to the second order, the third order ensures that no public or private entity that receives government funds requires proof of COVID-19 vaccination in order to enter a building or receive a service.

The fourth order ensures that no state supported living center, nursing home or long-term care facility requires proof of COVID-19 vaccination.

The fifth order being the suspension of Section 418.1015(b) and 418.108 of the Texas Government Code and Chapter 81, Subchapter E of the Texas Health and Safety Code, which will ensure that this executive order supersedes any order by local officials concerning COVID-19 that may conflict. Governor Abbot’s Executive Order No. GA-39 can be found here: https://gov.texas.gov/uploads/files/press/EO-GA-39_prohibiting_vaccine_mandates_and_vaccine_passports_IMAGE_08-25-2021.pdf.

However, Governor Abbott’s order can only go so far. The Texas Supreme Court has restrained Governor Abbott’s ban on mask mandates, temporarily allowing mask mandates for school districts.

This fall semester, Tarleton returned back to full capacity in-person classes and events. In a notice that Tarleton sent out on Aug. 25, there have been 87 new positive cases for the week of Aug. 15-21. This includes direct and indirect university related cases across all Tarleton campuses. 

 Testing for COVID-19 is available at the Tarleton Health and Wellness Center, CVS Pharmacy and Walgreens. For more information, Tarleton’s Roadmap can be found here:  https://web.tarleton.edu/roadmap/.