US fears pandemic of unvaccinated people

Moreover, after a recent drop in the number of deaths, the daily average of deaths reached 211 in one week, an increase of 26%, the AFP news agency reported.

This new wave is due to the Delta variant of the coronavirus, which is probably more contagious and which, according to Virological magazine, also grows faster in the body.

Although vaccines from Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson remain very effective against this strain, which the tracker covSpectrum already accounts for over 80% of new cases in the country, vaccination in the United States has slowed these down considerably. weeks.

The peaks are concentrated in communities with low inoculation rates, and “Unvaccinated Americans account for virtually all recent hospitalizations and deaths from Covid-19,” White House coronavirus response coordinator Jeff Zients said. .

Several regions of the country, especially those that voted for former Republican President Donald Trump in the 2020 election, such as Missouri, Arkansas and Louisiana, have significantly lower vaccination rates than regions that voted for Democrat Joe Biden, and are at the center of the rise in infections.

Biden had set July 4 as the deadline for 70% of adults to receive at least one dose, but as of July 15, the inoculation rate was 67.9%. At the current rate, the target will only be reached at the end of the month and the President has already recognized this problem.

However, and since 80% of those over 65, the most vulnerable age group, have already completed their vaccination, health authorities hope that the increase in hospitalizations and deaths will not be as dramatic as the increase in infections. which has already been observed in Israel and the UK.