Covid cases rise again in all 50 US states as delta variant tightens grip

Covid cases are on the rise in all 50 states and the District of Columbia as the delta variant spreads rapidly in the United States and the virus tightens its grip again.

The United States is reporting an average of around 43,700 new cases per day over the past week – well below pandemic highs but up 65% in the previous seven days and nearly three times the level from two weeks ago, data compiled by Johns Hopkins University shows. Cases hit a 15-month low in late June before starting to rise again as fewer people were vaccinated and the more infectious delta variant took hold in the country.

Vaccination rates peaked in April at more than 3 million shots per day, but have dropped significantly in recent months to around 530,000 per day, according to data compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Florida and Nevada have the highest daily average of new cases per capita over the past week, all of which are at least double the US rate.

Each of these states also has vaccination rates below the national level, with the biggest gap visible in Louisiana, where 47.7% of the eligible population aged 12 and older received one or more injection, up from 65.9. % for the whole country.

Hospital admissions of Covid patients are up 32% from a week ago, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The daily death toll from Covid, which typically delays the number of cases by a few weeks or more, has increased but not at the same rate as cases or hospitalizations. Many Americans most vulnerable to the virus now have some level of protection, as 89% of seniors have received at least one injection.

“The deaths have not increased because we have done an incredible job to fully immunize the populations most likely to die from Covid-19, especially those over 65 and residents of nursing and nursing homes,” Dr Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease specialist at the University of California at San Francisco, said in an interview. “Deaths are also lagging the infection rate in a few cases, but I also predict the death rate will not budge.”

The overwhelming majority of severe Covid cases – 97% of hospital admissions and 99.5% of Covid deaths – occur among those who are not vaccinated, US surgeon general Vivek Murthy told reporters on Thursday. from a White House briefing on Thursday.

Both President Joe Biden and CDC Director Dr Rochelle Walensky have called the current state of the epidemic a “pandemic of the unvaccinated.”

U.S. officials are advocating for Americans to get vaccinated against the delta variant, which Walensky says is one of the most infectious respiratory diseases scientists have ever seen. With 68.6% of the adult population at least partially vaccinated, the United States still has not met the Biden July 4 target of getting 70% of Americans aged 18 and older to receive an injection or more.

The variant is highly contagious, largely because people infected with the delta strain can carry up to 1,000 times more virus in their nasal passages than those infected with the original strain, according to new data.

“The delta variant is more aggressive and much more transmissible than strains that circulated previously,” Walensky told reporters in a briefing Thursday. “It is one of the most infectious respiratory viruses that we know of, and that I have seen in my 20 year career.”

Local authorities across the country are now begging Americans to wear masks indoors again. Several counties in California and Nevada are now advising all residents to wear masks in indoor public places – whether or not they are vaccinated. Local leaders in at least three other states have reinstated mask warrants, issued recommendations for facial coverage, or threatened the return of strict public health limits for all residents – in defiance of CDC guidelines that say those vaccinated do not do not have to follow these protocols in most contexts.

“The easiest, best, and most effective way to prevent the emergence of a new variant and crush the already existing delta variant is to have everyone vaccinated,” White House Chief Medical Advisor said. , Dr.Anthony Fauci, in an interview Wednesday with CNBC.

– CNBC Bob towey contributed reports.