News Updates

Current news topics:

• COVID-19
• COVID-19 Variants
• Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C)
• Winter Storm-Related Deaths

COVID-19

Accessible version (Excel)

The Texas Department of State Health Services tracks COVID-19 cases, testing, hospitalizations, vaccine allocations and uptake, and more.

COVID-19 data dashboards can be accessed from the menu options to the right.
Accessible version (Excel) | Texas COVID-19 Data Additional Datasets
All data are provisional and subject to change.

DSHS has additional information on COVID-19 for the public, health care professionals, health departments and labs at dshs.texas.gov/coronavirus.

News releases on COVID-19

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COVID-19 Variants – August 31, 2021

Because viruses constantly change through mutation, new variants of the virus that causes COVID-19 are expected to occur. Multiple variants have been documented in Texas and the United States that may spread more easily or cause more serious illness. Current scientific evidence indicates that available vaccines are effective at protecting people from severe illness caused by these variants. Public health officials at the federal, state and local levels continue to study them, monitor their spread, develop strategies to slow their spread and test how variants may respond to existing therapies, vaccines and testing. 

Following is an update of sequence confirmed COVID-19 variant of concern cases that were reported to DSHS through August 31. Please note that this is not a comprehensive count of all variant cases in Texas. Sequencing is performed on only a small sample of positive test results, so there are more variant cases in Texas than have been reported to DSHS.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – Variants of the Virus that Causes COVID-19
Texas Trauma Service Areas Map

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Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) – Sept. 20, 2021

DSHS has confirmed 231 cases of Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children. MIS-C is a rare but serious complication associated with COVID-19. The condition causes different body parts to become inflamed, including the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes or gastrointestinal organs. Children with MIS-C may have fever and various symptoms, including abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, neck pain, rash, bloodshot eyes, or feeling extra tired. The cause of MIS-C has not been determined. However, many children with MIS-C had the virus that causes COVID-19 or had been around someone with COVID-19. 

Parents and caregivers should contact their child's health care provider if a child shows symptoms of MIS-C. Providers should report suspected cases to their public health department.

While the cause of MIS-C has not been identified, the best way to protect your children against the condition is to take precautions to prevent anyone in your household from getting COVID-19.

MIS-C at a glance:

• Age range: 1 month-18 years old (median: 9 years old)
• Sex: 150 Male (65%), 81 Female (35%)
• Race/Ethnicity: 121 Hispanic (52%), 55 Black (24%), 38 White (16%), 6 Asian (3%), 11 Unknown (5%)
• Onset date range (fever): 4/5/20 – 9/14/21
• Hospital and ICU admission: 231 Hospitalized (100%), 155 ICU admission (67%)
• Outcome: 207 Discharged (90%), 1 Died (<1%), 23 Unknown/Lost to Follow-Up (10%)

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Winter Storm-Related Deaths – July 13, 2021

DSHS is tracking deaths related to the February winter storms that affected Texas and posting data that is preliminary and subject to change. 

There are three main ways DSHS is notified of disaster-related deaths:

• Medical certifiers submit a DSHS form specifying that a particular death was related to a disaster.
• Medical certifiers flag a death record as disaster related.
• DSHS epidemiologists match public reports of disaster-related deaths to death certificates.

DSHS disaster epidemiologists continue to reconcile information about causes of death. The majority of confirmed deaths were associated with hypothermia. There have also been multiple deaths caused by motor vehicle accidents, carbon monoxide poisoning, exacerbation of chronic illness, falls, and fire. Confirmed deaths occurred between Feb. 11 and March 5. 

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