Texas overtakes nation in COVID deaths, Washington Post study finds

New data analysis sheds light on the death toll from COVID-19 in Texas.

The analysis federal data, published on September 15 by The Washington Post, shows that one in 490 Texans has died from the COVID-19 pandemic. This is by no means the worst death rate among the states – that dubious distinction goes to Mississippi and New Jersey, each at 1 in 330. But Texas’ rate is slightly worse than the national rate of 1 in 500. Hawaii and Vermont boast the lowest rates: 1 in 2,100.

According to data compiled by The New York Times, the Lone Star State had recorded nearly 60,800 deaths from COVID-19 as of September 15. This is roughly equivalent to the number of people who live in the Austin suburb of Pflugerville or the Houston suburb of Spring.

Among Texas counties, Harris County had reported the most COVID-19 deaths (nearly 7,700) as of September 15, followed by Dallas County (nearly 4,600), Bexar County (nearly 4,400) and Tarrant County (over 4,000), according to The New York Times. Travis County is the eighth largest county in Texas, with more than 1,200 deaths.

Foard County, located about 70 miles west of Wichita Falls, had the highest number of COVID-19 deaths per capita as of Sept. 15 – 866 per 100,000. The rate nationwide State is 210 deaths per 100,000 population.

Data collected by the Mayo Clinic shows that 49% of Texans have been fully vaccinated against the virus that causes COVID-19, compared to 54% of the US population.

Governor Greg Abbott strongly opposes vaccination warrants, mask warrants and closures required by the government as tools to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. However, he adopts vaccination as “The safest way to end the pandemic”. Some local state officials have sharply criticized Abbott’s refusal to impose virus control measures.

“I think it’s pretty clear in the data that Texas is in the middle – or the beginning, depending on how you look at it – of a really major pandemic wave, and not just in counting, but in particularly by examining health care needs across the state, ”said Spencer Fox, associate director of the COVID-19 Modeling Consortium at the University of Texas at Austin. The Texas Tribune in August. “Many regions are now faced with figures that we have not seen since the winter.