Texas Calls in Nat’l Guard to Help Administer Vaccine

When it comes to the government’s role in our lives, everyone has a different line in the sand.  For some, it’s taxes, and they spend an inordinate amount of time and resources attempting to hold on to as much of their money as they can – sometimes in highly illegal ways.

For others, it’s about what you can or can’t do on your own property, whether that be planting a garden in the backyard, owning a certain breed of dog, or letting your 20 year old kid drink a beer while he mows the lawn.

And, of course, there a whole lot of Americans who don’t believe that the government should be able to provide any input on what goes into their bodies, whether that be cigarettes, drugs, or medicine.

For these folks, the idea that the government would mandate a COVID-19 vaccine is beyond the pale.  The idea that the military could administer it?  Even more terrifying.

Starting Thursday, state mobile vaccination teams staffed by Texas National Guard members will be deployed to five rural Texas counties to administer coronavirus vaccines to qualified residents.

National Guard teams will visit DeWitt, Marion, Real, Sherman and Starr counties as part of a newly created State Mobile Vaccine Pilot Program announced by Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday. The program aims to help vaccinate homebound Texans, Texans 65 years of age and older and other communities in need, according to a press release from Abbott and the Texas Division of Emergency Management.

The news came after a financial injection by the federal government.

On Wednesday, President Biden ordered full reimbursement to states that use the National Guard to increase the pace of vaccinations nationally. Part of Biden’s vaccination plan includes deploying FEMA and National Guard resources to reach a goal of 100 million doses administered in 100 days nationwide.

Authorities have speculated that the use of the Guard may be one of the only ways to provide vaccine availability to some of the Lone Star State’s far-flung, rural communities.