On the domestic front, vaccinations are beginning to rise in some U.S. states where COVID-19 infections are soaring. White House officials sent a warning to those unvaccinated because the summer surge is taking aim at vaccine-hesitant Americans. Meanwhile, as hospitalisations continue to rise, hospitals in the US south are stretched to the limit again.
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It appears that the Biden administration's plan to immunize all Americans did not go awry, as coronavirus coordinator Jeff Zients told reporters during a news conference today that several states with soaring COVID infections have seen sluggish vaccination rates vanish.
Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Missouri and Nevada are the examples, according to health officials.
Speaking of soaring infections, Louisiana reported 2,843 new COVID cases yesterday, a day after reporting the third-highest number of infections since the onset of the pandemic. Hospitalisations have also skyrocketed, from 242 in mid-June to 913 in the latest report. 15 new deaths were reported yesterday.
According to data from the state health department, only 36 percent of Louisiana's population is fully vaccinated.
Nationally, 56.3 percent of Americans have received at least one COVID shot.
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell yesterday sent a desperate plea to Americans, asking them to get vaccinated, or bear the consequences of yet another outbreak.
"These shots need to get in everybody's arms as rapidly as possible or we're going to be back in a situation in the fall that we don't yearn for - that we went through last year." Said McConnell.
A survivor of childhood polio, McConnell has been one of the most outspoken Republicans who often urges Americans to help stop the virus spread.
Back to the soaring infections. Conservative Utah reported 300 more hospitalizations as a result of the pandemic - the highest number in five months. Intensive Care Units have reached 81.5 percent capacity.
In light of the grave situation and trying their best to make sure they won't be faced with a carbon copy of a serious virus outbreak, health officials have renewed their pleas for residents to get inoculated. Try as they may, they still can't prod conservative Americans into getting a life-saving vaccine.
In Arizona, doctors are pleading for help. With healthcare personnel worrying if the virus is going to last in perpetuity, doctors are calling on the American people to get vaccinated, because now, patients arrive at the hospital acutely ill.
The Delta variant, which originated in India during the COVID crisis there in April, now accounts for around 83 percent of the infections in the U.S. As such, it is currently the predominant strain everywhere.
The Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said America's fate hinges on the American people's response to this outbreak at this pivotal moment.
"The Delta variant is spreading with incredible efficiency, and now represents more than 83 percent of the virus circulating in the United States. Compared to the virus we had circulating initially in the United States at the start of the pandemic, the Delta variant is more aggressive and much more transmissible than previously circulating strains. It is one of the most infectious respiratory viruses we know of. We are yet at another pivotal moment in this pandemic." Said Rochelle Walensky, the Director of the CDC.
The CDC has yet to change its guidance that vaccinated people need not wear masks. But in Georgia, to play safe, Atlanta Public Schools announced yesterday that it would be appropriate to implement a "universal mask wearing" policy in the school when classes begin in the fall.
Not only are health officials renewing their pleas for vaccine-hesitant Americans to get vaccinated to ensure their hard work will pay off, but they are also accentuating the benefits of getting a vaccine in one way or another, with the hope of prodding Americans into getting the life-saving vaccines, thereby averting a surge in infections and hospitalisations in the latter part of this year.
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