State Rep. Shawn Thierry wants Gov. Greg Abbott to form a task force to look at the coronavirus pandemic’s potentially inequitable impact on black Texans, according to The Dallas Morning News.
Last week, The Texas Tribune reported that an emerging national picture shows black Americans are disproportionately getting sick and dying from COVID-19, but sparse data has been collected in Texas to determine if the same trend is playing out in the state’s black and Hispanic communities.
Recommended Videos
Data reported last week by the Texas Medical Center showed that African Americans make up a majority of the coronavirus deaths being reported in Houston.
“I certainly hope that he will be very receptive to this issue,” Thierry, a Houston Democrat told The News. “By looking at the group that is the most affected and eradicating [the virus] in our communities is helping everyone.”