Greg Abbott

Safety is at the top of mind for many lawmakers, as protests are planned at the state Capitol on Tuesday to coincide with the first day of the legislative session.

Gov. Greg Abbott told healthcare providers to give out all the vaccines they have — and not to hold on to them to make sure people get their second doses, because more doses are on the way.

Twenty-eight coronavirus vaccination hubs will receive most of the state's next shipment of COVID-19 vaccines this week, with 158,825 doses shipping to providers able to manage large-scale efforts as more doses arrive in the state.

After a rocky and sluggish start, lawmakers are calling on Gov. Greg Abbott to communicate better and move some groups to the front of the line.

Experts expect a Legislative session akin to 2019, with less emphasis on culture war issues.

In separate statements, Gov. Greg Abbott and state health Commissioner Dr. John Hellerstedt suggested that some hospitals are not moving fast enough in distributing the vaccine to the first rounds of eligible patients.

COVID-19 dominated the news cycle in 2020, but that's not the only thing that happened. See some of the stories that reflect this unprecedented year, as chosen by our reporters.

Abbott has stressed the vaccine will not be required for Texans, and on Monday, he specifically said it will not be mandatory for the state's schoolchildren.

The first round of vaccinations comes as Texas is seeing a massive surge in cases. There are currently more than 1.3 million confirmed COVID-19 cases in the state.

Some local officials would like more power to respond to the virus as they see fit, but an appeals court already squashed one county's attempt to impose new restrictions.

Enrollment has fallen as schools and families grapple with pandemic closures and health concerns. Next semester, the declines could start hitting district budgets.

Under Gov. Greg Abbott's executive order, local restaurants must reduce indoor capacity from 75 to 50%. But many restaurants were already operating at or below that number.