Protests against mandated COVID-19 vaccines pop up across US

Pushback is happening over vaccine requirements and mask mandates.

Last Updated: August 4, 2021, 4:27 PM EDT

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

More than 615,000 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 58.4% 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 last week, 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 04, 2021, 4:27 PM EDT

Surge pushing hospital staffing to breaking point

The latest delta surge is once again pushing hospital staffing to breaking points across the U.S.

In Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington, some "facilities are experiencing substantial shortages of both clinical and support staff," according to a Department of Health and Human Services planning document obtained by ABC News Wednesday.

In hard-hit Missouri, many hospitals "don’t have the staff to support a surge without further modification to operational strategies," the document said.

At a Shreveport, Louisiana, hospital, where the number of COVID-19 patients are multiplying, nurse Melinda Hunt told ABC News, "To be honest, I probably cry most days at work. And I cry at home. I’m tired. I’ve been doing this a year and half. It feels like it’s never going to end."

Aug 04, 2021, 4:08 PM EDT

US daily case average jumped 45% in the last week

The U.S. daily case average has climbed to more than 84,000, a 45.3% jump in the last week, according to federal data.

A healthcare worker treats a patient inside a negative pressure room in the Covid-19 intensive care unit (ICU) at Freeman Hospital West in Joplin, Mo., Aug. 3, 2021.
Bloomberg via Getty Images

The daily case average is now more than seven times higher than it was six weeks ago.

All but three states are now reporting high (a seven-day new case rate ≥100) or substantial (a seven-day new case rate between 50-99.99) community transmission, according to federal data.

-ABC News’ Arielle Mitropoulos

Aug 04, 2021, 3:08 PM EDT

Delta variant now 93% of all sequenced cases in US

The delta variant now accounts for 93% of all sequenced cases in the U.S., according to the latest CDC data, which was collected over the last two weeks of July.

Delta accounted for just 3% of cases sequenced in late May.

Across the Midwest, described as HHS regions 7 and 8, delta made up 97% to 98% of cases. This includes Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming.

-ABC News’ Cheyenne Haslett

Aug 04, 2021, 2:55 PM EDT

WHO chief: No booster shots until at least end of September

The World Health Organization is calling for a moratorium on booster shots until more people from low-income countries have received a vaccine.

A paramedic prepares doses of AstraZeneca vaccine for residents at a walk-in COVID-19 clinic in Sydney, Australia, Aug. 4, 2021.
Saeed Khan/AFP via Getty Images

Low-income countries have only been able to administer 1.5 shots for every 100 people due to lack of supply, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, said Wednesday.

A moratorium on boosters until at least the end of September will "enable at least 10% of the population of every country to be vaccinated," he said.

But White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in response that the U.S. doesn't have to choose.

"We feel that it's a false choice and that we can do both," Psaki said Wednesday.

The U.S. has ordered enough supply for every American to get vaccinated, plus get a booster shot, according to the White House. The U.S. has already pledged to donate 580 million doses to the international community by 2022.

-ABC News’ Sarah Kolinovsky and Zoe Magee

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