These 7 states are currently experiencing the worst outbreaks of COVID

Summer may not be over yet, but the nationwide spike in COVID infections that can still be seen in most of the United States is not yet over. The national seven-day case average reached its highest level since January, reaching 149,626 as of August 23. according to data from The Washington Post. And while some experts predict that the states most affected by the summer peak of COVID could see their numbers start to drop soon, other places are experiencing new outbreaks themselves.

Despite the continued increase in cases, some senior officials have expressed confidence that we may finally see the pandemic subside in the months to come. “If we can get through this winter and really get the majority – the overwhelming majority – of the 90 million people who haven’t been vaccinated, vaccinated, hopefully we can start to have good control in the spring of 2022,” Antoine Fauci, MD, White House chief COVID adviser, told CNN Anderson Cooper during an interview on August 23.

But Fauci explained that this timeline was a projection of hope and that more of the general population would need to get vaccinated to make it a reality. “As spring approaches, we could start to get back to some degree of normalcy, which is to take back the things that we were hoping we could do – restaurants, theaters, that sort of thing. It’s up to us to decide,” he said. he declared. “If we continue to linger without vaccinating people who should be vaccinated, this thing could persist, leading to the development of another variant, which could complicate matters.”

Read on to see which states experienced the worst COVID outbreaks of 35% or more in the past week to August 23, according to data from The Washington Post.

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• New cases in the last seven days: 65 cases per 100,000 people
• Percentage increase in the last seven days: 36 percent

According to data from the state Department of Health, the recent spike in COVID cases in Wyoming has resulted in an increase in hospitalizations from 25 to 165 over the weekend. But these aren’t the only numbers to rise: Vaccinations in the state have also increased by 20% from last month, with more than 7,400 people receiving their first injection between August 6 and August 20, according to the reports. government data analyzed by the Casper Star-Tribune.

• New cases in the last seven days: 19 cases per 100,000 people
• Percentage increase in the last seven days: 37 percent

The numbers have moved in the wrong direction lately in New Hampshire. On August 20, state health officials announced that his seven-day positive test rate had reached 6% for the first time since January 15. After the weekend, it was then announced that Granite State had more than 100 hospitalizations related to COVID. for the first time since April 23, with data showing the hospitalization rate is now higher than the last time the total number of cases was at the same level, reports local ABC affiliate WMUR.

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• New cases in the last seven days: 27 cases per 100,000 people
• Percentage increase in the last seven days: 38 percent

The number of COVID in the Rocky Mountain state has increased dramatically over the past seven days, to 10,277 cases in the week ending August 22, from around 7,800 cases reported the week before, according to data. from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. The wave has led some local health experts to call for a return to public health precautions such as wearing masks.

While noting that the vaccines were very effective in preventing hospitalizations or death, Beth carlton, associate professor of environmental and occupational health at the Colorado School of Public Health, said face coverings could help reduce the high rate of breakthrough infections. “We have to rely on more than vaccines,” she said The Denver post.

• New cases in the last seven days: 90 cases per 100,000 people
• Percentage increase in the last seven days: 38 percent

As cases rise and hospital beds become scarce across the state, the Tennessee Department of Health announced on August 23 that it had called in the Tennessee National Guard to help support hospitals. overwhelmed. The state is also seeing a particularly sharp increase in pediatric cases, with nearly 1,400 cases reported per day in school-aged children aged 5 to 18, reports Tennessee Public Radio.

“As the cases increase, we only know that it is going to multiply”, Shelley East, MD, a pediatrician at Le Bonheur Hospital in Memphis, told Tennessee Public Radio. “And there is already nowhere to go for these patients because there is just no capacity.”

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• New cases in the last seven days: 28 cases per 100,000 people
• Percentage increase in the last seven days: 50 percent

At a press conference on August 23, North Dakota health officials announced that the state has seen active COVID infections quintuple in the past month and is currently experiencing the highest number of hospitalizations since January, the Grand Forks Herald reports. Molly howell, state immunization program manager for North Dakota, said the official approval of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine by the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) on Monday would hopefully convince more people in the ‘State of receiving their doses.

“Over 360 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in the United States to date; 686,630 doses were administered in North Dakota alone, ”she told the press conference. “So I hope that North Dakotas who are not yet vaccinated can now have confidence in the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines and choose to be vaccinated.”

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• New cases in the last seven days: 25 cases per 100,000 people
• Percentage increase in the last seven days: 51 percent

Vermont currently holds the record for the highest COVID vaccination rate in the country, with 85.2% of all residents aged 12 and over having received at least one dose as of August 23, according to the Vermont Department of Health . But a spike in infections has alarmed the state, especially in pediatric cases. State officials announced that the seven-day moving average reached 120 cases over the weekend, making it the highest recorded during the recent delta surge, reports VTDigger.

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• New cases in the last seven days: 52 cases per 100,000 people
• Percentage increase in the last seven days: 99 percent

State data released on August 23 shows West Virginia currently had 10,543 active cases of COVID as infections increased across all counties. At a press conference the same day, the Governor of West Virginia. Jim justice urged more citizens to get vaccinated, warning: “We are on the road to masks, we are on the road to virtual school in many situations, we are on the road to death for many more people. “

Other senior health officials have stressed the need for a revival of mask mandates amid the wave. “We are very worried. We are starting to see the inflection point: a tenfold increase in the number of cases since the first week of July,” he added. Clay swamp, MD, vice president of health sciences at the University of West Virginia and the state’s COVID-19 czar, said during the briefing. “We know that the time has come to be able to give whatever protective or rescue measures we can possibly take for our residents.”