As delta expands, 4 states reach new pandemic peaks for daily COVID-19 cases

• Florida, Mississippi, Hawaii and Oregon have reached new highs for daily COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations.

• Oregon and Hawaii, with higher vaccination rates and mask warrants, have more room in intensive care.

• They may never reach the “precarious position” of Florida and Mississippi, a professor said.

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Four U.S. states have set records for new COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations in the past few days, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

Florida recorded more than 151,000 new cases on Friday and Hawaii reached 1,167 new infections – the two highest since the start of the pandemic in those states. On Monday, Mississippi recorded a peak of 7,839 cases and Oregon 4,380, which is the highest in the states since the start of the pandemic.

The daily number of hospitalizations is also at an all time high in these four states, data showed

But of the four states, those with higher vaccination rates – Oregon and Hawaii – have more room in intensive care, suggesting vaccines reduce serious infections.

Peter Chin-Hong, professor of medicine at the University of California at San Francisco, told CNBC that Oregon and Hawaii “were suffering with explosive case rates, but with high vaccination and masking rates, could not never be in the same precarious position “as Florida or Mississippi.

The intensive care units in Florida and Mississippi have a capacity of over 90% and are mostly full of COVID-19 patients, data from Johns Hopkins University has shown. The intensive care units in Oregon and Hawaii are over 73% full, with mostly non-COVID-19 patients.

Oregon and Hawaii have mask warrants in place, unlike Florida and Mississippi.

Read more: Experts explain why mRNA technology that revolutionized COVID-19 vaccines could be the answer to incurable diseases, heart attacks and even snakebites: “The possibilities are endless”

According to Johns Hopkins University, Hawaii and Oregon have fully immunized 61.3% and 58% of their populations, respectively – well above the national average of 50.8%.

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Meanwhile, 51.8% of Floridians are fully vaccinated and Mississippi’s vaccination rates are much lower, at 36.1%, according to the same data.

Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves said at a press conference Friday that “when you look across the country, to an extent this current wave is the pandemic of the unvaccinated.”

“Those who have received the vaccine are significantly less likely to contract the virus,” he said.

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