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Texas’ COVID-19 pandemic death toll edges closer to 50,000

March 30, 2021 GMT

FILE - In this Feb. 11, 2021, file photo, registered nurse Marife Edquilang, left, administers a dose of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to Anthony Monroe during a vaccination drive at Texas Southern University in Houston. At least 11 states opened vaccine eligibility to all adults this week in a major expansion of COVID-19 shots for tens of millions of Americans amid a worrisome increase in virus cases and concerns about supply and demand for the vaccines. States opening eligibility to anyone ages 16 and older on Monday included Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Ohio and Kansas. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via AP)

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — 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 required hospitalization as of Monday, the latest total available.

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.