Vaccines headed to Texas providers focusing on large efforts

Perla Echavarria holds still as Michelle Davies, Health Services Coordinator for Harlingen ISD, administers her first dose of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine Friday, Jan. 8, 2021, at the COVID-19 vaccine clinic inside Casa Del Sol in Harlingen, Texas. (Denise Cathey/The Brownsville Herald via AP)

Perla Echavarria holds still as Michelle Davies, Health Services Coordinator for Harlingen ISD, administers her first dose of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine Friday, Jan. 8, 2021, at the COVID-19 vaccine clinic inside Casa Del Sol in Harlingen, Texas. (Denise Cathey/The Brownsville Herald via AP)

 
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AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas health providers getting doses of the COVID-19 vaccine this week will include 28 providers that will focus on large community vaccination efforts, state health officials said Sunday.

Texas is currently vaccinating health care workers, people 65 and older and those with medical conditions that put them at greater risk of hospitalization and death from COVID-19.

The Texas Department of State Health Services said Sunday that the hub providers will get more than 158,000 doses of the vaccine this week.

Researchers from Johns Hopkins University say more than 30,000 people in Texas have died due to COVID-19, the second highest in the country.

Johns Hopkins says that over the past two weeks, the rolling average number of daily new cases in Texas has increased by 9,363.7, an increase of 76.9%.

After steadily rising over the last week, hospitalizations in Texas fell by 824 on Sunday to 13,111.

For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms that clear up within weeks. But for others, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, the virus can cause severe illness and be fatal.