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.
Here's how the news is developing today. All times Eastern.
Aug 06, 2021, 1:47 PM EDT
Small Georgia hospital sounds alarm over 'staggering' 1,126% hospitalization increase
An Albany, Georgia, hospital system has seen a worrying spike in COVID-19 hospitalizations. "A month ago, we had eight COVID patients in our hospitals. Today, we’re caring for 97. That’s a staggering 1,126% increase in just over four weeks," said Scott Steiner, Phoebe Putney Health System's president and CEO.
"Our current challenges are exacerbated by a lack of available contract staff to support the Phoebe Family. Every hospital in our region is stretched to its limit," he added. Steiner urged residents to support health care workers. "Get vaccinated, wear masks and take appropriate steps to slow down the spread of the virus," he said.
-ABC News' Brandon Baur
Aug 06, 2021, 1:46 PM EDT
Prior COVID infection followed by vaccination more protective than infection alone: CDC
Being vaccinated after having had COVID-19 offers far better protection than prior infection alone, according to a study the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released Friday.
The study, which appeared in the agency's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, examined Kentucky residents who had previously had COVID-19. Some chose to get vaccinated, while others didn't. The result: Those who skipped the vaccine were more than twice as likely to be reinfected compared to those who were vaccinated.
"If you have had COVID-19 before, please still get vaccinated," said Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the CDC's director. "Getting the vaccine is the best way to protect yourself and others around you, especially as the more contagious delta variant spreads around the country."
-ABC News' Sony Salzman
Aug 06, 2021, 12:24 PM EDT
50% of Americans now vaccinated: White House
As of Friday, half of Americans are now vaccinated for COVID-19, according to the White House.
"50% of Americans (all ages) are now fully vaccinated," Cyrus Shahpar, the White House's COVID-19 data director, wrote on Twitter Friday. "Keep going!"
-ABC News' William Gretsky
Aug 06, 2021, 12:54 PM EDT
Single-shot J&J vaccine effective against delta and beta variants: Study
A real-world study of South African health care workers found that the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine was highly effective against the delta and beta variants, according to the South African Medical Research Council, which presented the results Friday.
The vaccine was between 91% and 96% effective against death, according the study, which included more than 477,000 health care workers. J&J showed stronger protection against the delta variant, now dominant in the United States and South Africa, than it showed against the beta variant.
"The data reported today by South African investigators show that a single shot can protect against death due to COVID-19 in the most challenging epidemiologic setting: A massive delta surge in Africa," said Dr. Dan Barouch, director of the Center for Virology and Vaccine Research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, who helped invent the J&J shot but was not directly involved in the South Africa study.
A health worker talks to a vaccine trials' volunteer before he is tested for COVID-19 and takes part of the country's human clinical trial for potential vaccines at the Wits RHI Shandukani Research Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa, Aug. 27, 2020.
Siphiwe Sibeko/Reuters, File
While the results have not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal, they may serve as a reassuring data point as the delta variant sweeps the U.S.
Glenda Gray, president and CEO of the South African Medical Research Council, who led the study, said at the Friday press conference that the J&J vaccine showed good durability, an indication that there's no need for booster shots just yet.
