TEXAS — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who has not enacted any new shutdown orders to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in the state, spent Tuesday at the White House, discussing the “development, regulation, delivery and administration of COVID-19 vaccines across the country.”

Abbott spent the day participating in a governors panel moderated by Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar.

"Now that the vaccines are arriving we will be able to vaccinate this month more than the total number of Texans who have tested positive for COVID-19. It will lead to a dramatic decrease in COVID cases here in the coming months," Abbott told Spectrum News 1. 

The trip comes less than a week ahead of the projected arrival of a vaccine in Texas, and as the state has passed 200,000 active cases of the virus.

In addition to the 200,050 estimated active cases of the virus reported by the Texas Department of State Health Services Monday evening, 8,712 new cases of the virus were reported, and an additional 33 people died in Texas due to the disease.

That brings Texas to 1,258,214 total cases of the virus and 22,627 fatalities tied to it. Texas is anticipating an initial shipment of 1.4 million vaccine doses. 

There are currently 8,790 patients being treated for COVID-19 in Texas hospitals, 12,893 available hospital beds, and 801 available ICU beds.

The initial vaccine doses headed to Texas will be distributed to the following medical facilities: