Some Texas doctors are outraged about a new state law that bans health departments from promoting COVID vaccines.
The law went into effect last September, it's a provision in the budget that prohibits any agency funded by the state health department from promoting COVID vaccines. That means no outreach programs and local health departments have stopped hosting vaccine clinics.
Health departments can still administer vaccines if asked.
The provision, known as Rider 40, is legal but many doctors say it's not a good public health policy.
The CDC recommends COVID-19 vaccines, insisting evidence shows it's the best way to protect yourself from getting the virus.
The coronavirus has killed more than 100,000 Texans since 2020.
The Texas Tribune noted "It may be a largely symbolic debate to the average Texan: The pandemic is waning, and Abbott long ago took executive action to snuff out all types of mandates. But it remains a salient cause for some in Abbott’s party who have championed “medical freedom” in the wake of the pandemic."