VITAL SIGNS

Texas Gov. Abbott Didn’t Tell His Medical Experts That He Was Going to Ditch Mask Mandate, Says Report

Three of the Texas government’s panel of four medical experts told the Texas Tribune that they didn’t talk to Greg Abbott before he went public with widely condemned plan.

This won’t come as a shock—but Texas Gov. Gregg Abbott’s announcement that he’s ditching his state’s mask mandate did not come with the blessing of his team of medical advisers. In fact, according to the Texas Tribune, most of them didn’t know anything about it. Three of the four experts told the newspaper that they didn’t talk to Abbott before he went public with the plan, and the fourth said he’s not sure it’s the right move to take. Dr. Mark McClellan, a ex-commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, reportedly said that he was “not consulted before the announcement,” but believes that it’s “too soon for full reopening and to stop masking around others.” Two other experts confirmed that Abbott did not reach out to them. The fourth, who did speak to Abbott, Dr. John Zerwas of the University of Texas System, told the newspaper that he couldn’t say if it’s the right time to remove pandemic restrictions. On Wednesday, President Joe Biden accused Abbott of “Neanderthal thinking” when asked about the decision to lift pandemic restrictions in Texas. Houston has reported all known variants of COVID-19 are now circulating in the hard-hit city.