Texas lieutenant governor points to ‘unvaccinated Black people’ amid Covid spikes

Scientists calls Republican a ‘lying racist’ as data shows inaccuracy of claims

Texas lieutenant governor Dan Patrick is facing criticism for pointing the finger at Black Americans, who he claimed were more “unvaccinated” than other populations, for a spike in Covid.

In a television appearance on Thursday, Mr Patrick told Fox News host Laura Ingraham that “African Americans who have not been vaccinated” were “the biggest group in most states” who were unvaccinated.

“The Covid is spreading and particularly, most of the numbers are in the unvaccinated,” said Mr Patrick, who was asked about rising infections in Texas, “and the Democrats like to blame Republicans on that.”

“Well, the biggest group in most states are African Americans who have not been vaccinated,” he then alleged. “The last time I checked, over 90 per cent of them vote for Democrats in their major cities and major counties.”

While vaccination rates are relatively low among Black Texans, the group is not primarily responsible for rising cases in Texas, which is currently fighting over governor Gregg Abbott’s ban on mask-wearing mandates in schools.

State health department figures also show that Black residents accounted for 16.4 per cent of the state’s cases and 10.2 per cent of deaths last week, while being only 13 per cent of the Texas population, The Washington Post reported.

White Texans, meanwhile, accounted for 41 percent of the state’s population, but 34.9 percent of all Covid cases infections. Hispanic Texans accounted for 35.8 per cent of cases but are 40 per cent of the Texas population.

“Lieutenant governor Dan Patrick is a lying racist,” wrote Jorge Caballero, a former instructor at the Stanford University School of Medicine and health scientist, on Twitter.

“We know this because data shows that white Texans are responsible for twice as many cases as Black Texans, and there are 3 unvaccinated white Texans for every 1 unvaccinated Black Texan.”

Texans falls below the American average for vaccinations, with 46 per cent of the state receiving both doses, compared to the national average of 51 per cent, according to The Post.

More than 1.5m people have now viewed a video of Mr Patrick’s remarks on Twitter.