On Monday, April 5th, Texas governor Greg Abbott, who recently removed the mask mandate for Texas, signed an executive order banning government-mandated vaccine passports for the state.

What is a vaccine passport?

A vaccine passport is a documentation that shows that a person has received the COVID-19 vaccine or recently tested negative for the virus that causes it, and it is often required in order to receive certain services. 

Abbott’s Reasoning

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.

Greg Abbott

He believes that it’s not the governments place to force people to vaccinate just to be able go on with their daily activities. He also goes on to say that vaccinations should be done “without treading on Texans’ personal freedoms”. 

The order also states that state agencies and politica subdivisions shall not adopt or enforce any order, ordinance, policy, regulation, rule, or similar measure which requires an individual to provide documentation requiring the individual’s vaccination status for any COVID-19 vaccine in order to receive a service or enter a place. Political subdivisions as mentioned can include a county, school district, housing authority, and others. 

In addition to this, on Friday, Florida governor Ron DeSantis put forth a similar order stating that business cannot require proof of vaccination as that would be considered an infringement on personal freedom and decisions. 

Thank you so much for reading this, and I hope continue to stay safe during these challenging times!