Texas governor orders ban on private company vaccine mandate

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. He also 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.

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