hospitals than any other county. toboost vaccinations, firefighters are going door-to-door. we have to make available this vaccine to our residents in any way and every way that we can. reporter: north texas is now out of pediatric beds. the state now now reporting the highest number of children hospitalized with confirmed covid. houston is now defying the texas governor and is expected to require masks in schools, joining austin and dallas. what we don t need is governor abbott sticking his nose in and trying to stop school districts from doing what they need to do. reporter: the president today standing behind local officials who are challenging their governors. to the mayors, school superintendents, educators, local leaders, who are standing up to the governors politicizing mask protection for our ds thank you. thank you, as well. thank god that we have heroes like you. reporter: tonight, across the south, many hospitals there warn they are nearing a breaking point. the