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The state is on the verge of passing the 4 million mark for coronavirus cases after reporting 12,440 more cases Saturday, including 9,513 that are confirmed, 2,281 that are probable and 646 that are older and were recently reported to the state.
The state also reported 317 COVID-19 deaths, raising its toll to 62,786.
The state’s case total is now 3,996,847, including 3,337,783 confirmed and 659,064 probable.
According to the state, 10,349 people are hospitalized with COVID-19 in Texas, including 2,909 in North Texas. In the 19-county region that covers the Dallas-Fort Worth area, 17.4% of all hospitalized patients had COVID-19 as of Friday, above the 15% threshold that Gov. Greg Abbott has said in the past would be a cause for concern.
State data shows that 17,153,984 people in Texas had received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine as of Friday, while 14,683,383 — 61% of the state’s population 12 and older — are fully vaccinated.
The state’s vaccination data will not be updated over the weekend while the state makes edits to its dashboard that will include new metrics for booster doses, a note on the site says. The note refers to a recommendation made by both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this week on booster shots of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
According to the center, people 65 and older, people 18 and older with a medical condition, and people 18 and older who are in occupational or institutional settings that put them at high risk of contracting COVID-19 should get a booster shot at least six months after their second dose of the Pfizer vaccine.