Governor Abbott directs TEA to prohibit COVID-19 vaccine requirements
AUSTIN (CBSDFW.COM) — Governor Greg Abbott said in a statement on Thursday that he will prohibit the Texas Education Agency from requiring students to take a COVID-19 vaccine.
On Nov. 17, 2022, Abbott instructed the TEA and school superintendents across Texas that they cannot mandate any COVID-19 shot as a school entry requirement.
The order goes against recent CDC guidelines that recommend, but do not require, the vaccine to be added immunization schedules for both adults and schoolchildren.
It also comes as a "viral trifecta" of COVID-19, flu, and RSV spreads across the state, hitting children especially hard. The wave of upper respiratory infections has seriously strained children's hospitals and filled up emergency rooms, and doctors are urging parents to vaccinate their children.
In August, Abbott issued an executive order that allows parents to opt out of the vaccine for their children. The Texas Legislature also passed an amended several statutes to allow parents to opt out of any vaccines for their children for health or religious reasons.
Although, as the Governor's statement itself says, "the recent CDC recommendations do not create a federal vaccine mandate," Abbott said many schools take CDC guidance into consideration when creating vaccine requirements.
Abbott's letters to TEA Commissioner Mike Morath and Texas school superintendents are both available online.