"Nobody can force Texans to get vaccinated." This is the peremptory message of the Republican and Trumpian governor Greg Abbott who, challenging the efforts of the White House to beat the pandemic, continues the crusade that led him first to prohibit the use of masks and now to ban all employers to ask employees for proof of vaccination.
But his crusade risks turning into a long legal battle against the same large companies in the state, which allow only the vaccinated to return to the office. We are talking about companies like American Airlines, Facebook, Google, which have already made it clear that they do not want to back down.
"No entity in Texas can force an individual to get vaccinated against Covid - reads the decree passed by Abbott - including employees who oppose it for personal or religious reasons or for medical reasons. The choice to get vaccinated for Texans must always be voluntary. ".
A line on a collision course with that of Biden, who is preparing to enact new rules to ensure that employers only re-welcome employees who are fully vaccinated or who undergo tests every week.
Texas confirms itself, from abortion to arms to Covid, the laboratory of the most conservative policies. In the state, the number of victims of the pandemic is close to 70 thousand. Only in California a worse budget, but with a much larger population.
In the US there are still about 1,800 deaths and almost 90,000 new cases a day. The situation changes from state to state, weighing a hard core of no vax that appears difficult to scratch. Only 56% of the population is vaccinated, with 7.3 million Americans already receiving the third dose.
(Unioneonline / L)
