Texas Governor Calls Special Session to Ban COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates

‘We must protect the freedom of Texans from forced COVID-19 vaccinations.’

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in Tuscaloosa, Ala., on Sept. 9, 2023. Vasha Hunt/AP Photo

The governor of Texas on Oct. 5 called a special legislative session to ban private employers from imposing COVID-19 vaccine mandates.

Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, listed banning private mandates among a list of priorities that also includes bills to fund construction of barriers at the U.S.–Mexico border and targeting the Colony Ridge illegal immigrant encampment.