ODESSA, Texas — As COVID begins to become more of a topic of conversation, the Odessa City Council took action that is fighting its comeback attempt. City council passed a resolution that allows the City of Odessa to not be required to enforce mandates imposed nationally or by the State of Texas.
It essentially means that the city will not enforce COVID-related mandates like masks and vaccines. This type of resolution is the first passed in Texas, with the hope to be a leader in the state and beyond.
Odessa took a monumental step forward Tuesday night to gaining medical freedom.
“COVID vaccine mandates have absolutely no place in the great and freedom-loving State of Texas," said Brian Harrison, State Representative for the 10th District of Texas in Ellis County.
The resolution was read by District 5 Odessa City Councilman Chris Hanie, who spoke on the local impact.
“Nobody’s going to lose a job because they don’t get a stick or they have to wear a mask, nobody’s going to lose a job – not in the City of Odessa," Hanie said. "Just remember, oil dropped to nothing at the last pandemic when everybody got shut out of jobs, oil dropped to nothing. People were going hungry here, so, let’s remember that, not this time.”
Harrison has worked in this fight at the state level, and he says the healthcare and nursing shortage has been hurt the most.
“We’re saying to otherwise healthy 18, 19, 20-year-olds, ‘if you want to go and serve your fellow man, you want to go be a nurse, you want to go be a doctor, you’ve got to get a shot that you probably don’t need,'" Harrison said. "Again, I’m not a doctor, but that decision should be up to that healthy 20-year-old and her or his doctor – not an employer.”
As Odessa leaps towards individual freedom and informed consent: "Texans are demanding medical freedom," Harrison said. "Texans deserve medical freedom." The hope is they won’t be the only one.
“I hope that every city and county – not just in Texas but everywhere, every state that has not yet protected the medical freedom of their citizens – that their eyes are turned to Odessa, Texas tonight, and to see the brave, bold, courageous and I would say historic action that you are taking here tonight.”
Harrison is currently working to get the Texas COVID Vaccine Freedom Act passed during special sessions in our state’s capital. His bill would ban COVID mandates for state and private entities, and he is hoping that this decision by Odessa will provide some momentum in this battle.