Texas’ Covid-19 death toll nears 50,000 – 3rd highest in nation

AUSTIN, Texas — The number of people with Covid-19 who have died in Texas is edging close to 50,000, the third-highest death toll in the nation, researchers reported Tuesday.

Johns Hopkins University researchers said 48,140 people with Covid-19 have died in Texas during the past year. Texas has the nation’s 23rd highest per-capita death rate, according to the university's data.

State health officials on Tuesday reported 109 new deaths, along with 3,980 new confirmed and probable Covid-19 cases.

State health officials said that 3,161 people with Covid-19 currently require hospitalization.

According to data from Johns Hopkins, the rolling average number of daily new cases in Texas decreased by 580.6 over the past two weeks, a decrease of 12.4%.

Texas on Monday opened Covid-19 vaccine eligibility to all adults. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that over 3.8 million people in Texas have completed their vaccination. That's more than 13% of the population.