Over the Fourth of July weekend, the United states saw a rise in COVID-19 cases in nearly half of the states. The highly transmittable Delta variant is to blame as well as low vaccination rates.
According to a USA TODAY Network analysis of Johns Hopkins University data shows:
- Alaska and Arkansas more than doubled cases in just the last week.
- South Carolina and Kansas are up more than 50%.
- Missouri = scary: The number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients jumped by nearly 30% over the Fourth of July weekend in a hard-hit area where immunization rates are low, leading to a temporary ventilator shortage and a public call for help from respiratory therapists. Missouri leads the nation with the most new cases per capita in the past 14 days; 39.4% of residents there are fully vaccinated.
- COVID-19 cases in Mississippi increased by almost 15% in June. As usual, Mississippi is dead last in important matters. Their vaccination rate is the lowest in the country. Dr. Fauci advises people to wear a mask if visiting the state. About 95% of those hospitalizations have been in unvaccinated Mississippians, officials said.
A look at state by state vaccination rates:
And on another note about the vaccines:
The BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine appears less effective at preventing COVID-19 cases resulting from the Delta coronavirus variant but remains highly effective at preventing hospitalization, according to early data from Israel.
From June 6 to July 2, the vaccine demonstrated 64 percent efficacy at preventing cases and 94 percent effective at preventing hospitalizations, the Israeli health ministry announced late Monday, according to Ynet news.
