Texas Gov. Greg Abbott bans COVID vaccine mandates

Driving the news: The Republican governor took the action in response to the FDA granting full approval to the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID vaccine for those ages 16 and older.

• He previously banned vaccine passports implemented after emergency use authorizations.
• "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," Abbott said in a statement.

By the numbers: Texas saw 14,255 COVID hospitalizations on Wednesday, surpassing the Jan. 11 record of 14,218, AP notes.

• 79% of Texas' 85,874 ICU beds are full, with 30% of them being COVID cases, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.

The big picture: Abbott last week asked hospitals to delay nonessential medical procedures to free up hospital beds for COVID patients.

• But he continues to vehemently fight against mandated public health measures for and masks.
• The Texas Education Agency temporarily stopped enforcing Abbott's ban on public school districts imposing mask mandates due to ongoing litigation challenging the order.

Of note: A CDC study out this week found unvaccinated people are 29 times more likely to be hospitalized with COVID.

• Abbott, who last week tested positive for the virus, tweeted Saturday that he had since tested negative and shared he was told his infection was "brief & mild" due to his being vaccinated against COVID.