This is no joke, sadly.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott tested positive for COVID-19 yesterday.

First, we wish the governor a full and speedy recovery.

Second, a few points:

• Abbott gets tested every day. That’s not an option for most people, in Texas or anywhere else in America.

• The night before testing positive, Abbott attended a large indoor gathering of Texas Republicans at which he and most other attendees did not wear masks — despite the latest recommendation from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

• In March — ignoring warnings from public health officials — Abbott ended his own statewide mask mandate and occupancy limits for businesses.

• More recently, Abbott banned any kind of mask or vaccination requirements by school and government officials throughout Texas.

• Perhaps not coincidentally, Texas has more children with COVID infections serious enough to require hospitalization than any other state in the nation.

• Abbott himself has been vaccinated and reportedly even got a booster shot recently.

• Abbott is also receiving monoclonal antibodies — the same treatment Donald Trump got when he contracted COVID last fall.

• Meanwhile, Abbott is able to rest and recover in the luxurious Texas Governor’s Mansion and receive the very best medical care possible.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott is taking advantage of every resource available to him but actively denying local governments and school boards throughout Texas the ability to use the resources at their disposal to save lives.

And for what, to score points in a “culture war” Republicans fabricated because their positions on actual policy matters are bankrupt?

Tell Texas Governor Greg Abbott:

You may well come through your bout with COVID having suffered minimal symptoms and no long-term effects. But millions upon millions of Americans do not have access to anywhere near the same levels of support and treatments that you do. If you care about helping people in Texas and all across America deal with COVID, you should be doing everything in your power to make sure they don’t get infected in the first place. That means — for starters — reinstituting a statewide mask requirement and rescinding your insane executive order that prohibits individual school districts from making their own informed decisions about how to protect children.

Add your name.

Thanks for taking action.

For progress,

- Robert Weissman, President of Public Citizen

P.S. For half a century, Public Citizen has been advancing policies that put the needs of everyday Americans before the greed of billionaires and Big Business. That legacy of progress and that ongoing work could not matter more right now, as our nation transitions to a Joe Biden presidency that will be as progressive as we — you and Public Citizen, together — make it. We’re also busy undoing all the damage Trump did. And, like so many nonprofits and small businesses, we continue to experience financial strain related to the coronavirus pandemic. If you can, please make an emergency donation today to support the critical work we’re doing together or even join our popular Monthly Giving program. Thank you.
 
 
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