Coronavirus

Delta Variant Fuels COVID Surge As Officials Urge Vaccinations

Vaccination rates are starting to rise in some COVID hotspots.

Delta Variant Fuels COVID Surge As Officials Urge Vaccinations
David A. Lieb / AP
SMS

Vaccination rates are starting to rise in some states that have seen COVID spikes 

The Delta variant is now responsible for more than 83% of cases in the U.S. and officials say it's more aggressive and contagious. 

More new cases have been reported in the past week. But officials say in the past week states with higher case rates and lower vaccinations have seen their vaccination rates rise faster than the national average. 

People in these states are feeling the impact of being unvaccinated and responding with action," said COVID-19 Response Coordinator Jeff Zients.

But we've also heard about the breakthrough cases with people who are fully vaccinated but still wind up catching the virus. 

The latest data as of July 12 shows the CDC tracked about 54,000 breakthrough cases leading to hospitalizations or deaths. But that's out of 162 million people who were fully vaccinated at that point. So it is happening, but is fair from common.