Texas governor Greg Abbott bans ALL COVID-19 vaccine mandates: Rips into Biden for 'bullying' and says the orders are 'threatening Texas' recovery' from the pandemic

• Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Biden's vaccine mandates amounted to 'bullying' on Monday, and barred them in his state by any entity, including private employers
• He said in an executive order that the mandates 'cause workforce disruptions that threaten Texas' continued recovery from the COVID-19 disaster'
• Now, 'no entity in Texas' can compel proof of vaccination by any individual, including employees or customers
• Biden issued his mandate in September as his administration struggled to control the pandemic, which has killed more than 700,000 Americans 

Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott, responding to what he called 'bullying' by the Biden Administration, has barred all COVID-19 vaccine mandates in the state by any entity, including private employers.

Abbott's move sets him up for a clash with President Joe Biden, a Democrat who last month called on businesses nationwide to order their workers to be vaccinated or lose their jobs. At least several thousand people have since been fired for refusing to comply.

'In another instance of federal overreach, the Biden Administration is now bullying many private entities into imposing COVID-19 vaccine mandates,' Abbot wrote in an executive order. 

The Governor's order, according to the document, also supersedes any municipal or county mandate that would allow entities to impose such mandates

He said that the mandates were 'causing workforce disruptions that threaten Texas' continued recovery from the COVID-19 disaster.'

In the order, he encouraged residents to get the vaccine, but said that it 'must always be voluntary for Texans.'

The White House had no immediate comment. 

In July, he issued an earlier executive order banning all mask and vaccine mandates.  

Abbott's latest order states that 'no entity in Texas' could compel proof of vaccination by any individual, including employees or customers. He called on state lawmakers to take up the issue in an upcoming special session.

As of today, 44.396,097 have contracted COVID-19 in the US, and 713,706 have died since the pandemic began in 2020.

Tech giants Facebook Inc and Alphabet Inc's Google have both told employees that they would need proof of vaccination to return to their offices. Both companies employ large numbers in Texas.

Fort Worth-based American Airlines, the largest U.S. carrier, last week told its 100,000 U.S.-based employees they must submit proof of full vaccination no later than November 24 - or be fired.

United Airlines imposed a vaccine mandate on its 60,000 employees, around 9,000 of whom are based in Texas.

The company is defending a lawsuit filed in Fort Worth, and a federal judge on Wednesday will hear a request by United employees for an injunction to prevent the carrier from firing those who requested exemptions.

Biden issued his mandate in September as his administration struggled to control the pandemic, which has killed more than 700,000 Americans.

Political leaders across the United States have ratcheted up pressure on the unvaccinated in recent weeks.

Laws requiring proof of vaccinations are deeply controversial in the United States, with many Americans criticizing them as unconstitutional and authoritarian.

Proponents of vaccine mandates see them as necessary to pull the nation out of the nearly two-year pandemic and return to normalcy.