Texas health officials announced a record 326 deaths on Wednesday.

The previous record was set on July 23 with 278 deaths, according to health data.

The state had 17,458 new daily cases and 11,992 hospitalizations, according to the health department. There are currently 602 intensive care unit beds remaining in Texas, health officials said.

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey issued an executive order Wednesday to speed up access to the COVID-19 vaccine in the state.

The Arizona Department of Health Services will take the lead in the vaccination rollout under the order. The department is tasked with establishing and delivering a statewide implementation model.

Currently, Arizona counties are responsible for their own implementation plans.

"This is a health emergency, and we need all levels of government and our health system operating as such. Vaccines don't do any good sitting in a freezer," Ducey said in a statement.

The state health department will have the authority to establish private distribution sites, according to the executive order.

There is no statewide data for vaccinations. The executive order mandates that all counties display their vaccination numbers on their websites and share the info with the state health department.

Maricopa County, which leads the state with over 314,000 cases, has administered at least 36,000 doses as of Wednesday, according to the county's health department.

Los Angeles County officials said the National Guard will be deployed next week to assist the medical examiner's office with its growing number of COVID-related deaths.

Hilda Solis, the chair of Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, said six guardsmen will arrive on Jan. 4.

"They will be assisting until the end of January. It might be extended if warranted," she said at a news conference.

The deployment comes as the county recorded 274 additional deaths Wednesday, bringing the death toll to 10,056.

"The average number of deaths is about 150 people a day," Dr. Barbara Ferrer, the director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, said at a news conference.

ABC News' Michelle Mendez contributed to this report.

The new COVID-19 variant, which was confirmed in one person in Colorado on Tuesday, has now been detected in Southern California, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Wednesday.

Health officials in San Diego later said at a press conference the variant was found in their city, and the 30-year-old man had no history of travel, just like the person in Colorado. He has not been hospitalized, but contact tracing is underway and more cases are expected, officials said.

Dr. Anthony Fauci said to Newsom, "I am not surprised that you have a case and likely more cases in California and we will likely be seeing reports from other states."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it expects "there will be additional cases that are likely to be detected."

"Viruses constantly change through mutation, and new variants of a virus are expected to occur over time," the CDC said.

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

This comes as hard-hit California has reached a new record daily death toll with 432 fatalities reported in the last 24 hours, officials said Wednesday. This equals approximately one person dying every three minutes.

The Golden State has 20,612 COVID-19 patients in hospitals, including 4,389 people in intensive care units.

ICU capacity remains at 0% in the Southern California and San Joaquin Valley regions.

ABC News’ Jenna Harrison contributed to this report.

New York State Police will refer ParCare Community Health Network to the New York Attorney General’s office for allegedly misappropriating the Moderna vaccine, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Monday.

State Health Commissioner Howard Zucker said the Orange County-based health care provider obtained the vaccine under false pretenses, moved it to Brooklyn, and gave it to people who weren't on the priority list. While ParCare is the only organization currently under criminal investigation, the governor said recipients of the vaccine who violated the state's distribution plan could also face charges.

"Whenever you have a valuable commodity that is being dispensed you should expect fraud," Cuomo said.

Under New York's current plan for "1A" distribution, only medical workers, first responders and nursing home staff members are allowed to receive the coronavirus vaccine. Other groups will follow in future rounds.

"We take this very seriously," Zucker said in a statement last week. "Anyone found to have knowingly participated in this scheme will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law."

New York State Police and other investigators were at the ParCare location in Borough Park on Saturday night.

A spokesman for ParCare told ABC News Sunday evening that it is cooperating with the state investigation and will return its unused vials. ParCare received 2,300 doses of the Moderna vaccine, and 869 of those doses have already been administered, according to the spokesperson.

"ParCare followed all NYS DOH procedures for obtaining the Moderna vaccine and was approved by NYS DOH for distribution and by CDC as a network site. As a result, we have properly received the vaccines and have provided the documentation regarding the proper receipt of the vaccines to the NYS DOH," the spokesperson told ABC News.

With regards to the patients who received their first shot, ParCare said it will be "working with the state to ensure that we provide the second dose for our patients."

-ABC News' Ivan Pereira, Sasha Pezenik and Aaron Katersky contributed to this report.