GARY BORDERS The number of people in Texas hospitalized with COVID-19 has declined more than 28 percent in the past month, according to the Texas Department of Health Services. As of Feb. 7, Texas hospitals were treating 9,957 COVID-19 patients, down from nearly 14,000 a month ago. The number of new cases in the past week was 123,239 — a 22% drop from the record high of 158,922 the week of Jan. 10, according to the Coronavirus Resource Center at Johns Hopkins University. At the same time new cases and hospitalizations were decreasing, the number of Texans getting their first dose of vaccine crossed the 2.3 million mark as of Sunday, according to TDHS. That’s 700,000 more initial shots in a week. Those who are now fully vaccinated reached 733,287 as of Sunday.