One Texas doctor rails against the state's COVID-19 death toll thinks it will get worse

As Texas approaches another COVID-19 death milestone, one of the state's most respected physicians is expressing his frustration with the lack of care when it comes to the death toll.

Depending on your sources, Texas is ready to surpass 70,000 deaths — or it's already there if you factor in the thousands of deaths in nursing and assisted living homes. The number is just behind California's toll of 71,000 dead.

Dr. Peter Hotez, the dean of tropical medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, is one of the nation's leading experts in vaccines and an outspoken critic of the state's response. He took to Twitter on Sunday night to express concern about the state's death toll trajectory.

Twitter See @PeterHotez's post on Twitter. twitter.com/PeterHotez

Twitter See @PeterHotez's post on Twitter. twitter.com/PeterHotez

Twitter See @PeterHotez's post on Twitter. twitter.com/PeterHotez

Twitter See @PeterHotez's post on Twitter. twitter.com/PeterHotez

Hotez is among the most recognizable figures for television appearances but has repeatedly expressed frustration in the state's response.

As the Delta Variant swept across the state, it placed unprecedented pressure on hospitals. In turn, more than 16,000 people have died from the virus since Aug. 1, including more than 40 here in Kerr County.

However, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has rarely mentioned deaths during this period — more than 100 per day since Aug. 4. Instead, Abbott has turned to a steady stream of braggartly tweets celebrating the downturn in cases. While Abbott has advocated that vaccines are safe, he's aggressively worked to ban mandates and is now tangling with the federal government over the issue.

Twitter See @GregAbbott_TX's post on Twitter. twitter.com/GregAbbott_TX

In Kerr County, vaccine hesitancy has continued to stall efforts to fight COVID-19. The Delta Variant has placed extreme pressure on Peterson Regional Medical Center, with more than 40 consecutive days of 10 or more people hospitalized.