Texas Lieutenant Governor. When Dan Patrick, Texas Lt. Gov. was asked about the rise in coronavirus cases in the state during a Thursday evening appearance on Fox News, Patrick stated that "African Americans" were "the largest group in most states contributing to the spike.
Laura Ingraham asked Patrick to address criticisms from Democrats about covid-19 deaths and cases in Texas. Greg Abbott's policies. Governor Greg Abbott has refused to comply with public health mandates that would have prevented the spread of the highly contagious delta variant. He announced Tuesday that he tested positive for the virus, despite having been fully vaccinated.
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Patrick acknowledged that "covid" is spreading and that most infections are occurring in people who have not had the vaccine.
Patrick stated that Democrats like to point fingers at Republicans for this. "Well, the largest group in most states is African Americans who are not vaccinated. Over 90% of them voted for Democrats last time I checked in their major cities or major counties.
Patrick's comments, one clip of which was viewed over 845,000 times on Twitter by Friday morning, were immediately criticized. Some called the assertion of the lieutenant governor unfounded. His office didn't respond to a request late Thursday night for comment.
According to the Texas Department of State Health Services, the latest data shows that there has been no increase in the number of cases due to the presence of African Americans. As of August 13, Texas's black residents accounted for 16.4% and 10.2% respectively of state deaths. According to the most recent data, although vaccination rates among Black Texans are low, coronavirus cases rates among Whites (34.9%) and Hispanics (35.28%) make up the majority of state cases.
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Jorge Caballero, an ex-instructor at Stanford University School of Medicine and now a health data scientist for The Washington Post, stated that "making a statement that blames a racial/ethnic minority for spreading disease is a well known racist trope that predates us all." "People are already being affected by this virus and it doesn't make sense to add to the injury."
Caballero cast doubts on Patrick's claims via Twitter on Thursday night. He cited U.S. Census Bureau data from July and August which showed that unvaccinated White Texans are three times more than unvaccinated Black Texans. He said that Texas's case and vaccination numbers are so clear, there is no room to misinterpret.
According to The Post's tracking, 46% of Texans have been fully vaccinated. Nationally, the rate is 51%.
The Texas Tribune reported that Black Texans have 28% of the lowest vaccination rates in Texas among racial groups. The paper pointed out that a lack of trust in health care is common in this population due to the American system's many disparities.
According to the Tribune, Texas has low vaccination rates for White conservatives living in rural areas and Hispanics.
According to The Post's coronavirus tracker, Covid-19 cases have increased by 17% and deaths have gone up nearly 60% in the past week. Abbott is trying to ban mask mandates. Tensions are still high. One Texas school superintendent described instances where parents verbally and physical assaulted educators over masks. He even saw one parent removing a teacher's facial covering.
Video footage posted online shows Abbott addressing a crowd and interfacing with them at an indoor event the day before he announced his positive coronavirus diagnosis. In anticipation of an increase in deaths due to the state's continuing spike caused by the highly transmissible Delta variant, the Texas Department of State Health Services ordered five mortuary trailers earlier this month.
Caballero stated, "Whether we are talking about deep red or deepblue states, we really need all our leaders to focus on the problem instead of trying to score political points." "Because at the moment, we are our worst enemy - and the Delta variant is having a field day alongside us."
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