The state of Texas through Attorney General Ken Paxton has reinforced on Thursday its stand against the mandatory vaccination of citizens against COVID-19. Paxton's action comes in the face of President Joe Biden's Administration mandating the vaccine for state and federal employees.
Paxton said in a statement that Biden's mandate is against the state's commitment to the health and liberty of Texans who are free to get vaccinated if they wish to.
"Attorney General Ken Paxton condemns Democrats' attempts to mandate COVID-19 vaccines for state and federal employees. It's unprecedented that the Biden Administration is mandating a vaccine that is not fully FDA approved," the statement said.
"General Paxton is committed to the health and safety of all Texans, as well as safeguarding Texans' right to individual liberty. An individual's freedom to make personal decisions cannot be infringed. Currently, under Texas law, Texans have the right to choose whether they will get vaccinated."
Paxton assured Texans that he will persist opposing the Biden Administration if he finds their action contrary to "freedom" and the "best" of Texans. The statement also referred to Governor Greg Abbott's Executive Order GA 35, issued April 5, which specifies the banning of mandatory vaccinations for COVID-19 in the state.
"I will always fight to protect the individual rights of Texans to decide what is best for themselves and their families. I will continue to oppose the Biden Administration as Democrats demonstrate their willingness to sacrifice freedom for government control," Paxton stressed.
In the Executive Order, Abbott suspended Texas Health and Safety Code Section 81.082(f)(1) "to ensure that no governmental entity can compel any individual to receive a COVID-19 vaccine administered under emergency use authorization."
Abbott pointed out that many Texans have already been vaccinated along with many who have recovered from the virus, which in turn has lead to "some degree of immunity." In this regard, there is really no need to push others not willing to be vaccinated to do so, especially through a government mandate that violates a person's freedom.
The order also thwarts any effort to puch the use of COVID-19 passports which will limit an individual's entry into an institution's premises and to partake of an institution's services. Abbott stressed that such a practice is an "important privacy issue" since the vaccination status is a "private health information and no governmental entity should compel disclosure" of it "by mandating a so called 'vaccine passport'."
"The Constitution does not empower the federal government to mandate vaccine passports for COVID-19, and Texas will not impose such vaccine passports with the police power that is reserved to the States under our system of federalism," Abbott stressed.
In this regard, the Executive Order specified that no "public or private entity" who receives and will receive public funding are to require "documentation regarding the consumer's vaccination status for any COVID-19 vaccine administered under an emergency use authorization. The order also specified that consumer must not be denied the use of facilities and services.
