40% of Texans are fully vaccinated as daily COVID deaths drop to lowest point in more than a year – KTRK-TV

How many Texans have been vaccinated?As of June 23, 13.7 million people have received at least one dose and 11.6 million people, or 40% of Texas' population, are fully vaccinated. A total of 24.3 million doses have been administered. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines require two doses, and the Johnson & Johnson vaccine requires one dose.Texas received its first shipments of the COVID-19 vaccine on Dec. 14. The vaccines are available to everyone age 12 and older in Texas, regardless of occupation or health status.COVID-19 vaccine doses reported each dayThe state has administered 24.3 million doses as of June 23. The number of doses reported each day includes doses administered on previous days.

Health experts estimate 75% to 90% of Texans would need to be vaccinated to reach herd immunity. This is about 22 million people, or nearly 100% of adults in the state. The state is still far from reaching that threshold, even when considering people who have some immunity from a previous case of COVID-19. The CDC recommends people previously infected get vaccinated because scientists aren't sure how long immunity lasts for them.

SEE RELATED STORY: Could Houston-area reach herd immunity by late summer?

The state's vaccination effort has faced geographic, demographic and data challenges, many of which are unique to Texas, including a higher-than-average number of people who are too young to get the vaccine and a sluggish data collection system that can take days to publicly report doses administered.

A third of Texas' population lives in more rural areas, where health care is harder to access. State health officials initially rolled out vaccine hubs to help administer shots. But in May, the state shifted the responsibility to a growing number of doctors, pharmacies, public health offices and other smaller providers who have closer relationships with the community.

The distribution of the vaccine is unequal, according to a Texas Tribune analysis. Among people who have received at least one shot, the percent of white recipients is roughly in line with their proportion of the state's population, while Hispanic and Black residents are being vaccinated at lower rates.

Advocates say that language barriers and lack of access to health care providers and transportation have contributed to these disparities. Lower income individuals also face challenges trying to book a vaccine appointment through a process that favors people who have easy access to the internet and transportation.

The Hispanic and Black populations in Texas are younger compared with the state's white residents, which also adds to the disparities. Around 20% of the Hispanic population is under 12, and none of the vaccines are approved for children below 12. A majority of Texans age 80 and older are white.

These totals may differ from what county and city health departments report. The Tribune is measuring both the number of cases in each county and the rate of cases per 1,000 residents in the last two weeks.

On June 24, the state reported 10,709 available staffed hospital beds, including 813 available staffed ICU beds statewide. COVID-19 patients currently occupy 2.3% of total hospital beds.

Some regions with the highest mortality rates are predominantly Hispanic. The virus has been more deadly in Hidalgo and Cameron counties in the Rio Grande Valley, where death rates rival more populous parts of the state like Dallas and San Antonio. In El Paso County, thousands of residents have died of COVID-19 since the pandemic began, placing the region far ahead of other major urban counties in deaths per 1,000 residents.

New variants of the coronavirus that seem to spread more easily have been found in Texas, though preliminary studies suggest that vaccinations are still effective against the variants.

The state reports very limited demographic data for people who have had COVID-19, so the impact on Texans of color is difficult to measure.

There are 440,181 known probable cases in 229 counties, including 613 newly reported cases on June 24. The state began reporting probable cases, which can be detected through antigen tests, in November. A total of 25 counties, including Harris, Travis, and El Paso, are not reporting probable cases to the state, though antigen tests may take place there.

This rate is calculated by dividing the average number of confirmed cases by the average number of molecular tests conducted over the last seven days. This shows how the situation has changed over time by deemphasizing daily swings.

In order to publish data quickly, the state has to bypass what is normally a monthslong process of reviewing infectious disease data and performing quality checks before publishing. That's why all of these numbers and information are provisional and subject to change.

The state's data includes cases from federal immigration detention centers, federal prisons and starting in mid-May, state prisons. It does not include cases or vaccinations reported at military bases.

Texas' population estimate is from the Census Bureau's 2019 one-year American Community Survey. Population estimates for the state's counties are from the 2019 five-year survey, which captures smaller counties. The state's population by race, ethnicity and age group are from the Census Bureau's 2019 Vintage population estimates.

The video above is from a previous story.

The Texas Tribune is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans - and engages with them - about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.

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40% of Texans are fully vaccinated as daily COVID deaths drop to lowest point in more than a year - KTRK-TV