Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has gone from telling seniors to die for the economy to blaming unvaccinated African-Americans for the state’s COVID surge.
Patrick said on Fox News, “Well, the biggest group in most states are African Americans who have not been vaccinated. Last time I checked, over 90 percent of them vote for Democrats in their major cities and major counties, so it’s up to the Democrats to get … as many people vaccinated.”
Patrick, along with Gov. Greg Abbott had previously blamed immigrants and Joe Biden for the COVID surge in Texas. Before that, Patrick told older people that they would just have to suck it up and die for the economy.
The Texas COVID Surge Is Being Caused By Anti-Masking Policies And Unvaccinated Republicans
Each Southern state that is seeing a COVID surge has a few characteristics in common. They are places that Donald Trump won in 2020. They have lower than average vaccination rates, and they tend to, with Lousiana being the exception, have Republican governors. The states with Republican governors also tend to have anti-mask policies in place.
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Texas ranks 39th in the US in COVID vaccination rate.Â
When a low vaccination rate is combined with an administration that is hostile to basic public health guidelines, the result is a COVID surge that is among the top in the nation.
It’s Greg Abbott and Dan Patrick, not African-Americans who are responsible for the COVID surge in Texas.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
