Texas governor orders ban on private company vaccine mandate

By JIM VERTUNO
Associated Press

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued an executive order Monday to prohibit any entity, including private business, from enforcing a COVID-19 vaccine mandate on workers and called on state lawmakers to pass a similar ban into law. The Republican previously sought to ban state and local governments from enforcing a ban but had not stepped into rules businesses set for their workers. It was not immediately clear if the latest order would face a quick court challenge. Texas has seen a recent decrease in new COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations. But a rising death toll from the recent surge caused by the delta variant has the state rapidly approaching 67,000 total fatalities.