Texas doctors urge lawmakers to address masks, vaccinations in session’s final days

After what it described as a disappointing meeting with members of Gov. Greg Abbott’s staff, the Texas Medical Association is turning its efforts to the Legislature to restore local control over COVID-19 mitigation measures.

“We need our local institutions, be they hospitals, health care facilities, schools, we need them to have the freedom to act independently to make those decisions about vaccination and masking as best they can in order to protect their citizens, our patients,” TMA president-elect Dr. Gary Floyd told the Star-Telegram editorial board on Thursday.

Floyd, a pediatrician in the Fort Worth area, said Cook Children’s Medical Center is seeing nearly 600 patients a day, which he said is double what the hospital usually sees during a normal winter cold and flu season.

“In my 30 years in Fort Worth since Cook opened I don’t ever recall having to transfer a child for an ICU bed out of state,” Floyd said. “And last week we transferred two children out of state for ICU bed. That just doesn’t happen. Usually we’re the state that receives patients from surrounding states to help them out when their ICU beds get full.”

Abbott has prohibited local officials from issuing mask mandates, requiring vaccinations or placing restrictions on businesses.

Current TMA President Dr. Linda Villarreal stressed the dialogue with the governor’s office had been cordial, but it did not expect Abbott to delegate the issue to the Legislature.

“Actually I walked away thinking this is going to happen, and was totally floored when all he did was turfed it to our state legislators,” she said.

Villarreal was not deterred, however, saying the TMA has shifted its focus to the Legislature by activating its membership to lobby their local representatives.

The TMA has also advocated for increased vaccination while trying to get the governor or Legislature to allow local governments to put in their own mitigation measures.

Abbott’s special session agenda included an item on COVID strategies for public schools.

“The Texas Medical Association recommended vaccine and mask mandates when they met with our office,” Abbott’s spokesperson Renae Eze said in an email. “Governor Abbott added vaccine mandates to the special session agenda for the legislature to consider. The Governor made it clear when he did so that vaccine requirements and exemptions have historically been determined by the legislature, and their involvement is particularly important to avoid a patchwork of vaccine mandates across Texas. The legislature has also had the opportunity to address mask mandates under the current special session agenda.”

The special session must end by Sunday. Villarreal acknowledged the difficulty of trying to get a bill passed, but wasn’t daunted.

“I believe in miracles,” she said. “I do believe we can do it as long as we don’t stop trying.”