Mayor Adler urges city staff to get vaccinated but cannot mandate vaccines

(David Greedy/Getty Images)

By Delilah Alvarado

(AUSTIN, Texas) On Wednesday, Austin Mayor Steve Adler urged City Manager Spencer Cronk to enact a vaccine requirement as COVID-19 cases continue to rise, according to KXAN.

The City of Austin can only recommend staff workers to get a vaccine due to an executive order by Gov. Greg Abbott.

“With alarming increases in cases, ICU admissions and community positivity rates, we must do more," Adler said on Wednesday. "We must especially act to better protect our children under 12 who cannot get vaccinated and are being put at needless increased risk. I am today asking the City Manager to require city employees to be vaccinated (subject only to appropriate exceptions). Further, I urge Austin businesses also to require their employees to become vaccinated. We must all lead by our own example."

Some businesses are asking customers to wear masks, while school districts such as Austin ISD are asking Abbott to let schools enforce a mask mandate. On Tuesday, Adler condemned the mask ban - as the new school year is about to start and COVID-19 cases have been spreading through all age groups.

Mayor Adler says that he would mandate masks for everyone including vaccinated people if he could.

Dr. Ogechika Alozie, Texas Medical Association COVID-19 Task Force member, told KXAN he feels more needs to be done to increase vaccination and that employers should have a say in employees being vaccinated.

“I truly believe that employers now have to take a role in this conversation. They can’t sit on the backburner anymore. They have to make a decision,” Alozie said. “I think it is fair for people to have mandates to get vaccinated, and I actually believe that if we’re going to engage in mandate conversation, it should be on things that we have data around which are the vaccines and not masks.”

Abbott has said he will not rescind the executive order.

“The time for government mask mandates is over — now is the time for personal responsibility,” Abbott tweeted. “…Every Texan has the right to choose whether they will wear a mask or have their children wear masks.”

As of July 28, there are 2,151 active cases of COVID-19 in Austin-Travis County with 314 people hospitalized, 106 in the ICU and 58 people are on ventilators.

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