'Steady increase' in vaccines in past month, White House says

The U.S. saw its largest single-day increase in nearly nine months Friday.

ByEmily Shapiro, Ivan Pereira, Meredith Deliso, Morgan Winsor, and Marlene Lenthang
Last Updated: August 2, 2021, 7:10 AM EDT

The United States is facing a COVID-19 surge this summer as the more contagious delta variant spreads.

More than 613,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 and over 4.2 million people have died worldwide, according to real-time data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.

Just 57.9% of Americans ages 12 and up are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC on Tuesday, citing new science on the transmissibility of the delta variant, changed its mask guidance to now recommend everyone in areas with substantial or high levels of transmission -- vaccinated or not -- wear a face covering in public, indoor settings.

Latest headlines:

Here's how the news is developing today. All times Eastern.
Aug 01, 2021, 8:20 AM EDT

Israel to offer 3rd COVID-19 booster shot to older citizens: Reports

Israel's ministry of health has instructed that a third dose of vaccine should be administered to those over 60, beginning Sunday, Aug. 1, Israeli media is reporting.

The third jab will be given to those who have received the second dose at least five months ago. People who have recovered from COVID-19 will not be given the third dose.

Israel's prime minister and the minister of health are expected to speak on this Sunday morning.

Jul 31, 2021, 5:38 PM EDT

US reports another huge single-day increase in cases

The United States has reported over 100,000 new COVID-19 cases, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There were 101,171 new COVID-19 cases reported to the CDC on July 30.

The last time the U.S. saw over 100,000 cases reported in a single day was nearly six months ago on Feb. 6.

Chantel Powell gets a COVID-19 PCR test in order to travel later this week at a Miami-Dade County testing site, Monday, July 26, 2021.
Marta Lavandier/AP

On Friday, the CDC reported that the U.S. saw 86,000 cases in the previous 24 hours. That total had been the largest since Feb. 12, as the country began to come out of the surge seen in late December 2020 and early January.

Officials have said the delta variant is driving the increase in cases and continue to push the unvaccinated to get the shot.

Jul 31, 2021, 4:58 PM EDT

Florida sees largest single-day increase of COVID-19 cases ever

Florida reported its largest single-day increase of COVID-19 cases since the start of the pandemic on Saturday. 

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 21,683 people tested positive for the coronavirus in the last 24 hours.

Cases have risen sharply in the past month in Florida, fueled by the highly transmissible delta variant. On Friday, the state reported over 110,000 new COVID-19 in the past week -- the highest weekly increase since the start of the year.

Jul 31, 2021, 4:37 PM EDT

Austin, Texas, has just 9 ICU beds left

Austin, Texas, has just nine ICU beds available for its population of 2.3 million, as of Saturday, according to the state’s coronavirus tracker. 

The Austin area is currently treating 400 COVID-19 patients in hospitals. The 7-day moving average for hospitalizations in a week has increased over 47% from 34 to 50 new admissions on July 30, according to an Austin Public Health news release.

“We are running out of time and our community must act now,” Austin-Travis County Health Authority Dr. Desmar Walkes said on the crisis. “Our ICU capacity is reaching a critical point where the level of risk to the entire community has significantly increased, and not just to those who are needing treatment for COVID. If we fail to come together as a community now, we jeopardize the lives of loved ones who might need critical care.”

Related Topics