Why Big Businesses in Texas Are Ignoring Gov. Abbott ’s Vaccine Mandate Ban

Mandates have proven to be an effective but controversial method for compelling vaccine-shy Americans to receive their shots. But as the Biden Administration has doubled down on requiring COVID-19 vaccination—including proposing a rule that businesses with more than 100 employees mandate vaccination—for some Republicans, opposition to mandates is proving to be an essential credential for showcasing leaders’ conservative bonafides. On Oct. 11, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott—who has opposed masking but came under fire from a Republican political rival recently for allegedly failing to push back hard enough on federal vaccine mandates—took a strong stand against vaccine mandates, issuing an executive order banning any “entity” in Texas from mandating vaccination for people who object to the vaccine for any reason, including “personal conscience.” [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Stuck between following federal guidance and the state executive order, representatives for high-profile businesses based in Texas told TIME that they feel that federal law as well as employees and customers’ safety supersedes Abbott’s rule. And those that already required employees to be vaccinated have no intention of changing course. Dell, which is based in Round Rock, Tex., and boasted revenue of $92.2 billion last year, is requiring employees to be vaccinated or submit to weekly testing to work in the office. “Any employee...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized biztech2030 Source Type: news