US

Greg Abbott Issues Executive Order Banning Vaccine Passports

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Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott issued an executive order Monday banning government-issued “vaccine passports” statewide.

Abbott said that vaccinations against COVID-19 cannot be government-mandated, and that residents’ choice to not receive one should not prevent them from going about their lives.

“Every day, Texans are returning to normal life as people get the safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine,” Abbot said in a statement released Tuesday. “But as I’ve said all along, these vaccines are always voluntary and never forced. Government should not require any Texan to show proof of vaccination and reveal private health information just to go about their daily lives.”

Abbott added that Texas would continue to vaccinate residents “and protect public health” without “treading on Texans’ personal freedoms.”

Texans shouldn’t be required to show proof of vaccination & reveal private health information just to go about their daily lives.

I issued an Executive Order that prohibits government-mandated vaccine passports in Texas.

Don’t tread on our personal freedoms. pic.twitter.com/weTbz4FKyH

— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) April 6, 2021

The order prevents state agencies from establishing any vaccine passport requirements, “or otherwise conditioning receipt of services on an individual’s COVID-19 vaccination status.”

The ban also extends to any organizations that receive public funds from requiring Texans to prove that they received the vaccine.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis issued a similar executive order Friday, becoming the first governor to do so.

Abbott lifted Texas’s statewide mask mandate on Mar. 2 eliminated nearly all coronavirus restrictions in place even as some medical experts urged caution. At Globe Life Field in Arlington, over 38,000 fans went to watch the Texas Rangers home opener against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Since the repeal, coronavirus cases and deaths in the state have significantly decreased.

Texas has fully vaccinated approximately one out of every six residents, according to Johns Hopkins University, while almost double have received at least one dose.