'We value every individual': Southwest Airlines complies with federal vaccine mandate, defies Abbott's ban on mandates

Southwest Airlines, headquartered in Dallas and serving in Houston, is complying with a federal mandate that all employees receive COVID-19 vaccinations, defying Gov. Greg Abbott's ban on vaccine mandates.

“Southwest Airlines must join our industry peers in complying with the federal government's COVID-19 vaccination directive,” Gary Kelly, Southwest Airlines Chairman and CEO, said in a statement. “I encourage all Southwest employees to meet the federal directive, as quickly as possible, since we value every individual and want to ensure job security for all.”

The airline has informed workers they must be fully vaccinated by Dec. 8, or risk being fired, Bloomberg News reported. American Airlines has taken a similar position, the story said.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Abbott is “putting politics ahead of health,” Bloomberg reported.

“It’s not based on what is in the interest of the people you are governing,” she said at a press briefing, according to Bloomberg. “We’re going to continue to implement the law – which the president of the United States has the ability, the authority, the legal authority to do – and we are going to continue to work to get more people vaccinated, to get out of this pandemic.”

Abbott issued an executive order Oct. 11 that "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."

In a statement, Abbott said, "The COVID-19 vaccine is safe, effective and our best defense against the virus, but should remain voluntary and never forced."