Majority of Texans back COVID-19 vaccine, mask mandates: poll

A new poll from the University of Texas and the Texas Tribune indicates that the majority of people in the state support schools and indoor places requiring masks as well as allowing businesses to issue vaccine mandates.

The survey of 1,200 people showed that 57 percent of Texas voters support masking in indoor locations in the state, reports The Texas Tribune, and finds that 58 percent back masking requirements in schools. Forty percent opposed the indoor masking requirements and 39 percent opposed masking in schools. 

Texas has emerged as a ground zero in the debate over masks and vaccines, with Texas joining other states in suing the Biden administration over its vaccine-or-testing mandate for businesses with at least 100 employees.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, has sought to ban local mask mandates and have been a vocal opponent of what he sees as government overreach on coronavirus-related restrictions. 

Yet the new poll shows solid support within Texas’s state for tougher vaccine requirements.

It found that 54 percent support a business being able to mandate vaccination for its employees, while 43 percent oppose it.

The results did reflect a stark partisan divide in the state, with nearly 90 percent of Democrats in Texas support businesses being allowed to require vaccinations for employees and 80 percent of Democrats supporting such a measure for customers. Only 26 percent of Republicans support businesses being permitted to require vaccinations for employees and only 18 support of GOP votes say businesses should be able to impose such rules on their customers. 

In addition, the poll by the Tribune found that Democrats are generally more apt to be vaccinated than their Republican counterparts in Texas. Ninety-four percent of Democratic voters in Texas say they are vaccinated or plan to be, whereas 59 percent of Republicans say the same.

The survey of 1,200 registered voters was conducted online from Oct. 22-31. The margin of error was 2.83 points, writes the Texas Tribune. 

Abbott signed an executive order banning vaccine mandates for “any entity.”

The executive order states, “No entity in Texas can compel receipt of a COVID-19 vaccine by any individual, including an employee or a consumer, who objects to such vaccination for any reason of personal conscience, based on a religious belief, or for medical reasons, including prior recovery from COVID-19.” 

This move was criticized by Anthony Fauci, who called the ban “unfortunate.”

According to data from The New York Times, which is collected from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 53.7 percent of Texans have been fully vaccinated thus far.