As COVID-19 surges, local officials challenge Gov. Greg Abbott’s ban on mask and vaccine mandates
AUSTIN – School districts, local officials and hospitals are pushing for Governor Greg Abbott’s order banning mask and vaccine mandates and setting the stage for legal showdowns on coronavirus safety measures as cases surge and hospitals fill up in Texas.
Houston ISD has signaled its intention to require face coverings when students return this month. The Medical Branch of the University of Texas at Galveston requested a waiver to mandate COVID-19 vaccinations for staff but was denied. Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins called for face masks at a meeting this week; he is now being sued.
Abbott, a Republican who faces re-election in 2022, shows no sign of changing course. At a conference in Dallas this week, he stated that “there will be no government-imposed shutdowns or mask mandates” in the future.
As GOP activists cheer the move, public health experts warn that cases continue to rise and could potentially overwhelm hospitals without immediate action. The highly contagious Delta variant is driving the spread in Texas and cutting its way largely through unvaccinated communities. The number of hospital admissions has increased the most since the beginning of the pandemic.
Abbott continues to urge coronavirus vaccinations for those who want one. But Texas is lagging behind many other states: About 53% of residents here 12 and over are vaccinated against COVID-19, compared with more than 58% nationwide.
Dr. Mark McClellan, who previously advised Abbott on the pandemic, said local officials need flexibility based on conditions in their area.
“There is evidence that wearing a mask helps significantly, especially during the times of high community transmission that Texas currently has,” said McClellan, former commissioner for the US Food and Drug Administration and director of the Duke-Margolis Center for Health Policy at Duke University.
“I appreciate that wearing a mask is uncomfortable, I’d rather not,” he said. “But when there are high transmission rates in the community, I think it’s important that local authorities can make a decision that works best for their students and their people.”
Earlier last year, Abbott said he would rely on data and doctors in making public health decisions. McClellan was one of Abbott’s four original medical advisors, but no longer plays that role.
Abbott has been in regular contact with one of the original advisors, the head of the Department of Health, Dr. John Hellerstedt. Hellerstedt did not answer questions as to whether he agreed with Abbott’s order.
“Governor Abbott has made it clear that we must rely on personal responsibility, not government mandates,” Eze said in a statement. “Every Texan has the right to decide for himself and his children whether to wear masks, open his shops or get vaccinated.”
Abbott, whose two main challengers denounce masked mandates and criticize him for the restrictions imposed at the beginning of the pandemic, has received conservative praise for his approach. Texas Republican Party leader Matt Rinaldi asked supporters on Wednesday to sign a thank you card for Abbott’s reprimand of coronavirus mandates.
“I thank Governor Abbott for this critical common sense action,” he wrote in an email.
But there are increasing calls for Abbott to relax rules that conflict with the latest federal guidelines. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends universal masking in schools and suggests that even vaccinated people wear face-covers indoors when cases increase, a move that would protect themselves and others who are immunocompromised or are not vaccinated.
Children under the age of 12 are not yet eligible for a syringe, which makes them particularly at risk when they return to school this month.
On Wednesday, the Houston ISD became the first school district to announce plans to require masking for its nearly 200,000 students at the start of classes. The motion will be put to the vote at the district board meeting next week.
“The health and safety of our students and staff continues to be the guiding principle in all of our decisions,” Superintendent Millard House II said in a video posted on Twitter.
It remains to be seen whether other school districts will follow suit and defy Abbott’s order. El Paso officials wrote to Abbott this week asking him to allow school districts to choose whether or not they need masks. Dallas ISD did not respond to a request for comment.
Violations of Abbott’s order could result in a fine of up to $ 1,000. Georgina Pérez, a member of the El Paso State Education Committee, volunteered to raise funds to pay fines for school districts that defy governor’s order by requiring masks.
“Knowingly not protecting children from harm is against everything that teachers stand for,” she said.
Abbott’s office did not immediately respond to questions about whether fines had been imposed so far. Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner has seen no resistance since telling the city’s roughly 20,000 workers on Monday to wear masks again at work, a spokesman said.
Attorney General Ken Paxton on Friday urged Jenkins to stop asking for masks at district commissioner court sessions.
“Please revoke your last mask mandate by August 9, 2021, or I will consider all available options to terminate your illegal mandate,” Paxton wrote without further details.
Some institutes seeking exemptions from Abbott’s order were denied. The latest version prevents a wide variety of government agencies including cities, counties, universities and publicly funded hospitals from requesting the vaccine from employees pending full FDA approval.
The University of Texas Medical Department wants to require vaccination of its frontline clinical staff and requested an exemption, but was asked to abide by the governor’s order, according to Dr. Janak A. Patel, Director of the Department of Infection Control and Epidemiology in Health Care.
Dr. John Zerwas, the UT System’s Vice Chancellor of Health Matters, recently filed for the exemption of Abbott, who was unwilling to change his position, he said.
Parkland Hospital, a publicly funded organization under Abbott’s orders, plans to require its employees to be vaccinated once the FDA has fully approved the vaccination. In anticipation, Parkland warned employees this week that the first dose will be required by September 24th and the second – or single Johnson & Johnson dose – by October 15th. Around 71% of employees are already vaccinated against COVID-19.
“These steps are necessary to protect Parkland’s complex patient population, who, because of their socio-economic status, often have no choice in where to treat them,” said Michael Malaise, Parkland’s senior vice president of communications and external relations, in an e- Mail .
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