Missouri Governor Republican Mike Parson on Thursday issued an Executive Order in an attempt to resist Federal vaccine mandates. KRPS’s Fred Fletcher-Fierro has more.

Parson has been a vocal opponent of mandates of all sorts since the pandemic began early last year. Notably, he resisted statewide mask mandates while neighboring states such as Illonois, Kansas and Arkansas implemented mask mandates to help stop the spread of COVID-19 assist in easing the burden off of, at the time, overcrowded hospitals.

Parson said in a press release Thursday, “The Constitution and its historical interpretations clearly leave public health decisions to the states. The federal government has no authority to issue COVID-19 vaccine mandates.” Parson also said that he continues to support people getting vaccinated, but not by way of a mandate.

House Minority Leader Crystal Quade of Springfield, issued a response, saying in part, “The governor’s executive order appears carefully crafted to do absolutely nothing – except promote the attorney general’s latest frivolous lawsuit at taxpayer expense. “ So far 55.2% of Missourians have received one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. For 89 9 KRPS, I’m Fred Fletcher-Fierro