Coronavirus cases are spiking in nearly every state, fueled by the spread of the highly contagious delta variant.
The overwhelming majority of cases are appearing in Americans who are not vaccinated against the virus, with many of the highest increases coming in states where vaccination rates are the lowest. Cases nationwide are up 55% in the past week as a result, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Florida is now averaging the most cases of any state in the country, reporting approximately 6,500 new cases—a 91% jump from the week before—each day, according to the CDC. New cases are up nearly 124% in Oklahoma and 107% in Mississippi, where barely over a third of residents are fully vaccinated.
Cases have also spiked in states where far more residents have received both shots. In Massachusetts, where over 63% of people are fully vaccinated, according to the CDC, cases are up over 100%, and in Washington, D.C., they have jumped by 144%, though the district is now averaging just over 40 new daily cases total.
The CDC said last week that over 97% of COVID-related hospitalizations are among unvaccinated people, while over 99% of COVID deaths were among those not vaccinated as well.
Of the approximately 160 million Americans fully vaccinated against the virus, just 3,733 have been hospitalized, according to the CDC’s most recent update, and just 791 have died, tracking with multiple studies that have shown Pfizer and Moderna’s vaccines to be both safe and effective.
Top conservative figures have adamantly urged Americans to get vaccinated in recent days, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., even warned that if cases keep rising, states may reimpose lockdowns in an effort to curb the virus’ spread.
“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,” McConnell said Tuesday. “This is not complicated.”
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