As Texas Gov. Greg Abbott seeks to reopen Texas to 100% capacity and eliminate mask mandates by Wednesday, March 10, comments sections have been set ablaze. There’s a stark partisan divide when it comes to concern over Coronavirus and it’s worth mentioning in the discussion and recent CIVIQS polls have been revelatory. Is Texas ready to reopen? As you’ll see, the answer could certainly vary widely depending on whom you ask.
The following graphs show the concern of Texas Democrats and Republicans between Feburary 25, 2020 and March 3 of this year. While many Texans have stayed safe, the spread of COVID-19 in Texas has been severe. Texas was the first state to hit 1 million cases in November, currently ranks 36th in vaccine administration percentage, and 48th in vaccines distributed per 100,000 residents.
As you can see, 89% of polled Texas Democrats are “moderately concerned” or “extremely concerned” about coronavirus in their local area with less than 1% “unsure” and only 3% “not concerned at all.”
On the other hand, only 25% of polled Republicans in Texas are “moderately concerned” or “extremely concerned” about the coronavirus in their local area, and 75% either “a little concerned” or “not concerned at all.”
While the decision to reopen a Texas during pandemic is controversial to scientists and health experts, it could be viewed as overwhelmingly positive to much of the Republican base. Health experts in Houston have recently expressed concern after discovering every known strain of the virus, including strains that are significantly more contagious. Some of these new strains could be 40-70% more contagious than the first.
And the CIVIQS polling is not the only data revealing a partisan divide. A compilation article released today by Pew Research reveals similar divides across the country. Gov. Abbott’s announcement also comes on the heels of storm Uri, a weather event that had already placed many Texas residents in a precarious position. A study from The Perryman Group projects the property damage from the storm is likely between $195 and $295 billion.
And while Gov. Abbott seems entirely convinced that Texas is ready to reopen, today’s ICU capacity statistics for the DFW metroplex may tell a different story. Gov. Abbott states that, “removing state mandates does not end personal responsibility” and since masks also serve to protect others from a potentially asymptomatically-infected mask-wearer, his statement is false and misleading.
We encourage all readers to be fully vaccinated as soon as they are able. Let’s do our part to stop the spread and encourage our friends and family to do the same. Vaccination is our best bet for returning to the normalcy we all crave. Visit Vaccines.gov to locate your nearest vaccine provider.