DALLAS — Denton County health officials announced there are currently 27 people hospitalized with COVID-19 in the county. There were 22 on Sunday and 29 and Saturday.
The county currently has a 14-day average of 34 hospitalizations.
Health officials also announced 196 new COVID-19 cases Monday. There have now been 72,779 total cases since tracking began in March 2020.
There are also currently 16 ICU beds available in the county's hospitals.
COVID-19 patients currently make up 20% of the current Denton County patients in ICU beds.
As of Monday, 181,217 people in Denton County have received their first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine and 119,711 have received their second doses.
For a daily roundup of the latest news from around North Texas and beyond, sign up for the WFAA email newsletter.
Dallas County reports 416 new cases
Dallas County health officials announced 416 cases Monday, bringing the county total to 254,215 since tracking began in March 2020.
Of these new cases, 90 are considered probable because they came from antigen tests.
Dallas is likely to give out 10,000 total vaccines Monday, according to Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins.
"The wait time for a vaccine is now over and it is simply a matter of registering and getting your vaccine. If you've already gotten your vaccine, please encourage others to do the same. The most important thing that we can do now is get vaccinated," Jenkins said in a Tweet.
There were also nine new deaths in the county. These ranged in age from a Carrollton man in his 50s to an Irving woman in her 90s.
Tarrant County reports 18th consecutive day with fewer than 200 hospitalizations
Tarrant County Public Health said that as of Monday, there are 153 people hospitalized with COVID-19. There were 136 the previous day.
This is the 18th consecutive day the number of COVID-19 hospitalizations has been below 200.
The COVID-19 patients make up 4% of the total hospital bed capacity. The county currently has a 14-day average of 153 hospitalizations.
Health officials reported 194 new COVID-19 cases Monday. There have been 253,211 total cases in the county since tracking began in March 2020.
As of last Wednesday, 842,523 doses of COVID-19 vaccines had been out in Tarrant County.
Health officials also reported one new COVID-19 death. It was a Forest Hill man in his 90s.
Collin County hospitalizations remain below 100 for second consecutive day
Collin County health officials say the county currently has 88 COVID-19 hospitalizations as of Monday, down from 92 on Friday. This number has remained below 200 since March 8.
Health officials say COVID-19 patients make 3% of Collin County's total hospital bed capacity.
There were also 84 new COVID-19 cases in Collin County Monday, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. This is down from 62 on Sunday.
Collin County is averaging 66 new COVID-19 cases in the past 14 days.
Pfizer aims to offer vaccine to 12- to 15-year-olds by next school year
Pfizer said Monday it hopes its COVID-19 vaccine will be available to some children in time for the next school year.
Pfizer announced it submitted clinical trial data for adolescents 12 to 15 years old to the FDA for emergency use authorization.
The drugmaker says its COVID-19 vaccine is 100% effective in preventing all symptoms of the virus after completing a clinical trial with 2,300 adolescent participants.
FEMA accepting applications to cover funeral expenses
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is now accepting applications to help those impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic to help pay for funeral costs.
As part of the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act and the American Rescue Plan, FEMA said in a post on its website that the agency will provide financial assistance for COVID-19-related funeral expenses incurred after January 20, 2020.
Texas long-term care facilities reach record-low number of new daily cases in April
There were 12 new COVID-19 cases added in nursing facilities and assisted living facilities Monday, health officials said.
In March, long-term care facilities in Texas averaged 37 new cases a day. This is the lowest monthly average since the state started tracking these numbers in late July.
Through 12 days in April, these facilities are averaging 11 new cases a day.
The highest monthly average happened in December when Texas long-term care facilities were averaging 614 cases a day.
COVID-19 vaccine test subjects getting 3rd shot
Dozens of Americans are getting a third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine -- this time, shots tweaked to guard against a mutated version of the virus.
The vaccines currently being rolled out across the U.S. offer strong protection. But new studies of experimental updates to the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines mark a critical first step toward an alternative if the virus eventually outsmarts today’s shots.
The study, funded by the National Institutes of Health, isn’t just testing Moderna’s experimental variant vaccine as a third-shot immune booster. Researchers at Emory and three other medical centers also are enrolling volunteers who haven’t yet received any kind of COVID-19 vaccination.
