In the past week (July 31 through August 6), the U.S. reported about 630,000 new cases, according to the CDC. This amounts to:
- An average of 90,000 new cases each day
- 192 total new cases for every 100,000 Americans
- 34% more new cases than last week (July 24-30)
Last week, America also saw:
- 54,000 new COVID-19 patients admitted to hospitals (16.4 for every 100,000 people)
- 2,600 new COVID-19 deaths (0.8 for every 100,000 people)
- 93% of new cases now Delta-caused (as of July 31)
- An average of 700,000 vaccinations per day (per Bloomberg)
Delta continues to dominate COVID-19 cases in the U.S. The CDC updated its variant estimates this week, reporting that Delta made up 93% of U.S. cases at the end of July.
This variant has now solidly beat out pretty much every other COVID-19 strain—even the Gamma (or P.1) variant is now down to just 1.3%—reflecting its highly contagious properties. If you missed it, I highly recommend checking out last week’s CDD rundown of key Delta facts and figures.
COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths are taking a serious toll on under-vaccinated hotspots in the south. Seven states—Florida, Texas, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi—make up about half of recent U.S. cases and hospitalizations, even though they reflect less than a quarter of the country’s total population, White House COVID-19 coordinator Jeff Zients said at a briefing on Thursday. Many hospitals in these states are turning away patients and canceling elective surgeries, as though we’re back in spring 2020.
Still, there’s some good news in this crisis. As we noted last week, vaccination numbers are rising again, with the states hardest hit by Delta leading the pack. In Florida, for example, average daily vaccinations are up from 40,000 on July 7 to 70,000 on August 7. CVS and Walgreens are reporting vaccination upticks as well. And, as of Friday, over half of the U.S. population is now fully vaccinated.
According to new polling data from KFF’s COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor, Delta is indeed a vaccination motivator. About one in five unvaccinated adults surveyed in KFF’s July poll said that COVID-19 variant news “has made them more likely to get vaccinated for COVID-19.” Still, many more people need convincing: the poll found that over half of vaccinated adults erroneously believe a COVID-19 vaccine poses a higher health risk than the virus itself.
It’s tragic that thousands more would need to die for many Americans to finally get their shots. But every vaccination may potentially be a life saved.