Gov. Greg Abbott is continuing to explain his decision to end the mask mandate in Texas and lift other pandemic precautions. The governor says he had planned to ease the restrictions late last month as new shipments of vaccine were about to arrive. But the vaccine shipments were delayed by the severe weather and power outage, meaning some key health metrics were also delayed. Abbott denies the claims of political opponents that he's trying to distract the public from the state's handling of widespread power outages.
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