[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] - Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, 65, responded to questions about rising cases of the virus in his state in a Fox News segment Thursday night
- He said 'Democrats like to blame Republicans' for Covid spikes but went on to say the most responsible 'are African Americans who have not been vaccinated'
- His comments sparked immediate outrage as people denounced the governor as racist
- Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner called Patrick's comments 'ridiculous' because they 'make no sense' and were 'contrary to the facts'
- Meanwhile 1.9million black Texans are eligible yet unvaccinated compared to 5.6million white people in the state
The full vaccination rate among Black people in Texas is 29%, lower than the rates for Asian, Hispanic and white Texans.
Texas has reported race and ethnicity data for about 82% of people who are fully vaccinated.
Of 10.4 million white Texans 12 and older, 40.2% are vaccinated
Of 9.1 million Hispanic Texans 12 and older, 36.5% are vaccinated
Of 2.9 million Black Texans 12 and older, 29.1% are vaccinated
Of 1.s million Asian Texans 12 and older, 58.6% are vaccinated
| A question not addressed is the age and health skew for the unvaccinated by race. I suspect that among white Texans the unvaccinated are mostly young and healthy, while among Black Texans they are mostly older and unhealthy or evenly distributed, which would increase their representation among the seriously ill and in need of hospitalization. Sadly, there are legitimate historical reasons for the African-American community to distrust novel medical treatments, and the way this thing has been reported drove increased distrust rather than calming fears. |
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