Coronavirus updates: US reports nearly 300,000 new cases in all-time high

The U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services revised its earlier expectation that 20 million coronavirus vaccine doses would be administered by Christmas, the agency said in a statement Tuesday.

It now expects to hit 20 million vaccines into the first week of January, an Operation Warp Speed spokesperson said in a statement.

"These doses are being distributed at states’ direction to the American people as quickly as they are available and releasable," OWS spokesman Michael Pratt said in a statement.

Pratt added that the lag in reporting vaccination doses administered is expected.

-ABC News' Anne Flaherty contributed to this report.

Texas broke records for daily cases and hospitalizations on Tuesday, according to the state's health department.

The state recorded 26,990 news cases and 49 new deaths, the health department said. There were 11,775 hospitalized statewide and Texas had 653 available intensive care unit beds, according to the health data.

The new cases were announced on the same day it was revealed that only 163,700 of the 611,850 vaccine doses received by the state have been administered so far. Gov. Greg Abbott previously said he expected to receive 1.4 million doses by the end of the year.

Texas Health Commissioner Dr. John Hellerstedt said in a statement that no vaccine should be kept in reserve.

"All providers that have received COVID-19 vaccine must immediately vaccinate healthcare workers, Texans over the age of 65, and people with medical conditions that put them at a greater risk of severe disease or death from COVID-19," he said in a statement.

-ABC News' Gina Sunseri contributed to this report.

Africa has seen a 20% increase in new coronavirus cases and a 37% jump in deaths over the last week, with South Africa leading the continent's spike, according to the World Health Organization.

There were 114,000 new cases and 2,558 COVID-19-related fatalities reported in the region, according to WHO's weekly report.

South Africa had the most new cases and deaths in the region during that period according to the report.

The country recorded 82,434 new cases and 1,982 new deaths, WHO said.

-ABC News' Christine Theodorou contributed to this report.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control sent out a statement following the first discovery of the UK variant of the coronavirus in Colorado.

"We expect that there will be additional cases that are likely to be detected in the coming days," the agency said in its statement.

"Viruses constantly change through mutation, and new variants of a virus are expected to occur over time. Multiple variants of the virus that causes COVID-19 have been documented in the United States and globally during this pandemic."

The CDC added that the UK variant doesn't appear to cause more severe disease or mortality, but warned it does appear to have a higher transmission rate.

"Based on studies with other viruses containing similar mutations, CDC believes there will be little or no impact on immunity from natural infection or vaccination," the agency said.

-ABC News' Anne Flaherty contributed to this report.