Texas again reports more than 300 new virus deaths as Abbott touts ‘remarkable’ vaccine rollout

HOUSTON, Texas — Texas on Tuesday reported more than 300 new Covid-19 deaths for the fifth time time in the past week as the toll of the pandemic across the U.S. surpassed 400,000 deaths.

Health officials also confirmed more than 8,000 new cases as hospitalizations continued to hover around 14,000. Officials in the border city of Laredo say hospitals are at capacity and last week the Texas Department of State Health Services said the pandemic is “at its worst."

Gov. Greg Abbott said Tuesday that Texas has administered more than 1.3 million doses of coronavirus vaccines and used 78% of the doses allocated to the state.

“It’s remarkable when you think about it,” he said.

He did not address the state's caseloads or high hospitalizations during a visit to Houston Methodist Hospital, which he praised as a leader in administering therapeutic drugs to Covid-19 patients.

The 400,000-death toll nationwide was reported by Johns Hopkins University. More than 32,000 of those deaths have been in Texas.