Texas Gov. Greg Abbott expands vaccine mandate ban in wake of FDA approval of Pfizer vax

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday expanded his ban of vaccination mandates in his state, just two days after the Food and Drug Administration gave full approval to Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine.

As reported by the Texas Tribune's Joshua Fechter, Abbott's original order only barred vaccine mandates for vaccines that were authorized by the FDA for emergency use only -- but now Abbott is banning institutions from mandating vaccines even if they have full FDA approval.

"Given the legislature's primacy and the need to avoid a patchwork of regulations with respect to vaccinations, it is appropriate to maintain the status quo of prohibiting vaccine mandates through executive order while allowing the legislature to consider this issue while in session," Abbott wrote in his order.

Abbott, who tested positive for COVID-19 just last week despite being fully vaccinated, has been staunchly opposed not only to vaccination mandates but also to mask mandates in public schools.