Patrick falsely claims Blacks fueling surge
Thursday night about the COVID-19 surge in Texas, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick falsely claimed that unvaccinated Black Texans are “the biggest group” contributing to the increase in cases and hospitalizations.
Fox News host Laura Ingraham had asked the lieutenant governor to respond to political attacks on Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s handling of the pandemic. Abbott and his allies have faced criticism for forbidding local governments from instituting mask mandates, occupancy restrictions on businesses and some other public health measures to curb the spread.
“Most of the numbers are with the unvaccinated,” Patrick said Thursday. “The Democrats like to blame Republicans on that. Well, the biggest group in most states are African Americans who have not been vaccinated. And the last time I checked, over 90 percent of them vote for Democrats in their major cities and major counties.”
He later added: “In terms of criticizing the Republicans for this? We’re encouraging people who want to take (the vaccine) to take it — but (the Democrats) are doing nothing for the African American community that has a significant, high number of unvaccinated people.”
Patrick’s claim drew immediate backlash, with many calling his remarks racist. It is also demonstrably false: Estimates from the state health department show that white Texans make up the majority of the state’s vaccine-eligible population that has not received a shot.
It is true that the vaccination rate among Black Texans is low, with about 44 percent of the eligible population having reAsked
ceived at least one dose as of Thursday. That compares with 78 percent of Asians, 57 percent of Latinos and 53 percent of white people, per state health department data.
The raw numbers, though, tell a different story. About 24.1 million people are eligible for the vaccine in Texas, according to state population estimates. Texas has a below-average vaccination rate, with roughly 15.9 million people — or 66 percent — receiving at least one dose to date. About 13.2 million Texans, or 55 percent of the eligible population, are fully vaccinated.
Most of the roughly 8 million people who have not been vaccinated are white. While exact numbers are difficult to determine, given Texas’ troubled history collecting race data on vaccines, it’s estimated that there are about three times as many white Texans as Black Texans who are eligible for the vaccine but may not have received it — about 4.9 million to 1.6 million, the state health department data shows.
Recent U.S. Census Bureau survey data supports that determination. The Census Bureau found that white adults are the most likely group of Texans to be unvaccinated — and that group is also significantly more likely to rule out getting the vaccine than any other group. About half of unvaccinated white Texans said they definitely would not get the shot, compared with about 21 percent of unvaccinated Latinos and 28 percent of unvaccinated Black people.
But there are some notable gaps in the state data on race and vaccination. Of the 15.9 million people who have received at least one dose, race is unknown for about 1.2 million, and another 1.7 million people are listed as “other,” a number that three times exceeds official population estimates for that group.
Patrick’s comments also disregard additional factors that may influence inoculation rates, including access and historical reasons for vaccine hesitancy.
Texas’ current COVID-19 wave is mostly affecting that unvaccinated group, and the vast majority of hospitalizations are people who have not yet received their shots. The state’s most recent data on confirmed cases identifies Hispanic and white people as the largest groups impacted by the virus.
As of Thursday, Latinos made up about 36 percent of positive tests; white people, 35 percent; Black Texans, 16 percent; and Asians, 1 percent. Race is unknown for about 11 percent of confirmed cases, according to state health department data.
“The Lt. Governor’s statements are offensive and should not be ignored,” Mayor Sylvester Turner tweeted Thursday night, responding to a video of Patrick’s media appearance.
The clip, posted by Vox’s Aaron Rupar, has been viewed more than 1.6 million times as of publication.
“Lt. Gov. Patrick now blames the current surge in COVID on African Americans,” said state Sen. Borris Miles, D-Houston. “Using minorities as a scapegoat is nothing new for Republicans. This is uninformed, racist rhetoric, and it will not be tolerated.”
In a statement posted to his campaign Facebook page Friday afternoon, Patrick doubled down on his comments, saying that “Democrat social media trolls were up late misstating the facts and fanning the flames of their lies.”
“Federal and state data clearly indicate that Black vaccination rates are significantly lower than White or Hispanic rates,” he wrote. “Democrats continue to play politics with peoples’ lives, pandering to rather than serving certain constituencies. Republican leadership will continue to encourage vaccination without mandates in all populations.”