“Making a statement that casts blame on a racial or ethnic minority for the spread of disease is a well-known racist trope that predates most of us,” Jorge Caballero, a former instructor at the Stanford University School of Medicine who is now working as health data scientist, told The Washington Post. “People are already getting hurt by this virus, and it makes absolutely no sense for us to add insult to injury.”
On Thursday night, Caballero cast doubt on Patrick’s claims on Twitter, referencing U.S. Census Bureau
data collected in July and August that suggests unvaccinated White Texans outnumber unvaccinated Black Texans roughly 3 to 1. Texas’s vaccination and case numbers are so stark, he said, “there’s just no room for misinterpretation.”
About 46 percent of Texans are fully vaccinated, according to The Post’s tracking. The nationwide rate is about 51 percent.