Coronavirus claims over 80,000 lives in 2nd largest U.S. state Texas

HOUSTON, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- Coronavirus has claimed more than 80,000 lives in Texas, the second largest U.S. state, Texas Department of State Health Services announced on Wednesday afternoon.

The official count based on death certificates is 80,005, according to the latest data. About 190 Texans now are dying from the virus each day, on average.

Moreover, the true cost of omicron may not be known for months since hospitalizations and deaths lag weeks behind COVID-19 infections and it can take several weeks for fatalities to appear in official death tallies, said a report from the Houston Chronicle.

Texas is tied with California, the largest U.S. state, for the most COVID-19 fatalities in the nation, despite having 10 million fewer residents, said the report.

In Houston, the biggest city in Texas, 90 percent of COVID-19 patients in intensive care units are unvaccinated, said William McKeon, president and CEO of the Texas Medical Center, representing the city's major health facilities and teaching hospitals.

"So many people have died as a result of choosing not to get vaccinated," McKeon said.

Federal health forecasts predict that Texas could log another 4,000 coronavirus deaths by the end of February, said the report.