Fact check! Dan Patrick blames African Americans for COVID spread

By: Roy Douglas Malonson Now, I have heard some racist junk in my time and, unfortunately, it just doesn’t get any better – or easier – to listen to politicians say the damndest things against our Black people. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is blaming unvaccinated Black people for the COVID-19 surge in Texas and across the nation. His sources for this claim? An incorrect Facebook post. Patrick made the remarks recently on a Fox News segment when questioned about the latest COVID-19 surge. “The COVID is spreading particularly, most of the numbers are with the unvaccinated and the Democrats like to blame Republicans on that. Well, the biggest group in most states are African Americans who have not been vaccinated.” Say what? Patrick really went there on national television, blatantly stating that Black people are spreading the virus, when the Republican party members have been the most vocal in anti-mask, anti-vaccination rallies and political meetings. Numerous statistics and analyses disprove Patrick’s statement. Let’s look at the facts. Black people make up almost 13% of the United States population and are not the “biggest group” of unvaccinated people in Texas or the nation. An analysis by the KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation) found that white people held the largest amount of unvaccinated people across the country. Another analysis by the KFF found that Black people accounted for more than 50% of positive COVID-19 cases in only two out of 35 analyzed states. In Texas, Black people only account for 15% of positive COVID-19 cases compared to 52% of Hispanic people and 32% of whites. Self-reported data from KFF stated that 65% of African American people said they received at least one dose of the vaccine compared to 70% of whites and 61% of Hispanic people. Another analysis found that across 40 states, 40% of Black people are vaccinated compared to 50% of whites. While Black and Hispanic communities are less likely to have received a vaccine, Black people’s vaccination rates are steadily increasing as white people’s rates are declining. While the effectiveness of current vaccines is declining against new COVID-19 variants, the vaccines are […]

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