Texas LT Governor Dan Patrick has been attacked with accusations of racism for pointing out an obvious fact about blacks and the virus. During a Fox News segment, Patrick defended the public health policies of Texas Governor Greg Abbott. Vocal leftists point out a rise in virus cases and hospitalizations as the fault of local leadership. They also say since Republicans are in charge in Texas, they need to do more to get citizens vaccinated. Dan Patrick responded by saying if the issue is among the unvaccinated, Democrats also need to step up because black Americans are the largest unvaccinated group nationwide.
Pointing out an unfavorable statistic about a protected group is obviously a risky thing to do. But the reality is that Dan Patrick did not lie. While leftists activists, mainstream media, and politicians (all the same really) attempt to make vaccine hesitancy a political thing, reality says something different. Some statistics suggest that counties that voted more for Biden over Trump have higher vaccination rates. But those numbers do not break down the political background of everyone who is vaccinated in those counties. Furthermore, black Americans vote 90% Democrat and in nearly every state where enough data exists, they are consistently vaccinated at a lower rate than their population.
The “racism” allegations here feel like projection. Democratic Party-controlled states like California and New York are proposing vaccine mandates as well as vaccine passports. In order to go to a restaurant, movie theater, gymnasium, etc one would need to show proof of vaccination. In a place like New York, that measure would disproportionately discriminate against black Americans who have a 25% vaccination rate in the 18-44 age group. This sounds more like racism than simply pointing that low vaccination rate out.
As the Lieutenant Governor said, getting a vaccination should be everyone’s personal choice. There should not be coercion involved with injecting anything into one’s own body. Especially not coercion from the state. Nor should there be mainstream media meddling with numbers to push fear in order to scare people into getting the shot. The information should be presented to the general public in an honest way without political spin. Because the numbers clearly show that this issue is simply not about any sort of left/right/other politics.
SOURCES:
Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick blames state’s rising cases on ‘African Americans who have not been vaccinated’ – The Washington Post
Texas Lt. Gov Deflects COVID Criticism on Democrats, Black Americans
Fact check: Texas lieutenant governor falsely implies Black people to blame for Covid surge – CNNPolitics
Black people, with low vaccination rates, stand to be shut out disproportionately by mandates
Black New Yorkers may have the lowest vaccination rates, but community groups refuse to give up – CNN
Vaccine Effectiveness Against Infection May Wane, C.D.C. Studies Find – The New York Times
Covid: CDC study finds about 78% of people hospitalized were overweight or obese
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