WHAT TX-15 IS READING: Monica De La Cruz Hernandez Spreads Fake News about COVID-19 Vaccines

As the delta variant has led to a spike in new COVID-19 cases in Texas, local outlets in TX-15 are making sure Texans know that Republican congressional candidate Monica De La Cruz Hernandez failed an Associated Press fact check after she “spread false claims” about a COVID-19 vaccine information campaign. KVEO, a local TV outlet in the Rio Grande Valley, called out De La Cruz Hernandez for spreading misinformation on her social media:

“[…] political candidates have also spread false claims that the Biden administration’s door-to-door vaccination campaign infringes on the federal health privacy law. ‘How about the government stay the heck out of our business!?’ Texas Republican congressional candidate Monica De La Cruz-Hernandez wrote in a Facebook post. ‘What ever happened to PRIVATE health decisions? Seems like giving these door knockers our vaccination status would a HIPPA violation.’ […] In fact, HIPAA doesn’t block anyone from asking another person about their health status, according to Alan Meisel, law professor and bioethics expert at the University of Pittsburgh.”

While De La Cruz Hernandez spreads misinformation about vaccination efforts to protect Texans from this deadly virus, the Lone Star State has been particularly hard-hit by the delta variant. As KVEO reports, “[…] three states – Florida, Texas and Missouri – made up 40 percent of new cases last week.”

“While House Democrats work to deliver pandemic relief to South Texans, Republicans like Monica De La Cruz Hernandez are spreading falsehoods about the life-saving COVID-19 vaccine,” said DCCC spokesperson Monica Robinson. “Simply put, misinformation like this is dangerous, and it could even be deadly. The last thing South Texans need is a politician like Monica De La Cruz Hernandez who would rather lie and mislead than protect the health of her neighbors.”

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