Nearly 600 patients wait for hospital beds in Houston following surge in COVID cases

According to the CDC, 46% of Texans have been fully vaccinated.

ByEmily Shapiro, Ivan Pereira, Meredith Deliso, and Marlene Lenthang
Last Updated: August 16, 2021, 12:25 AM EDT

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

More than 620,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 and over 4.3 million people have died worldwide, according to real-time data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.

Just 59.1% of Americans ages 12 and up are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Latest headlines:

Here's how the news is developing today. All times Eastern.
Aug 10, 2021, 2:17 PM EDT

Fauci says he supports vaccine mandates for teachers

Dr. Anthony Fauci supports a mask mandate for teachers, he told MSNBC's "Morning Joe" Tuesday.

"We are in a critical situation here. We've had 600,000+ deaths and we are in a major surge now as we're going into the fall," Fauci said. "I know people must like to have their individual freedom and not be told to do something, but I think we're in such a serious situation now that, under certain circumstances, mandates should be done."

Dr. Anthony Fauci listens as President Joe Biden speaks during an event in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, DC, Feb. 25, 2021.
Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images, FILE

Fauci said it's only a matter of time until the FDA approves the vaccine and people shouldn't use that as a reason to delay getting the shot.

"There's no doubt that these vaccines are going to get fully approved," he said. "You should consider this as good as fully approved and get vaccinated."

-ABC News' Cheyenne Haslett

Aug 10, 2021, 1:37 PM EDT

Austin down to just 2 available ICU beds

Only two intensive care unit beds were available for COVID-19 patients in hospitals in the Austin area Monday night, Austin-Travis County Health Authority Dr. Desmar Walkes said, according to ABC Austin affiliate KVUE.

There were 551 COVID-19 patients in area hospitals Monday, including 91 in the ICU, KVUE reported.

In the North Texas region, there are only two pediatric ICU beds available, Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said, according to ABC Dallas affiliate WFAA.

Aug 10, 2021, 12:20 PM EDT

Florida, Louisiana, Arkansas, Alabama leading nation in cases

Florida currently has the nation's highest COVID-19 case rate, followed by Louisiana, Arkansas, Alabama, Missouri, Mississippi and Texas, according to federal data.

Across the country, 90% of counties -- home to 98% of the U.S. population -- have reported high (a seven-day new case rate ≥100) or substantial (a seven-day new case rate between 50-99.99) community transmission in the last week.

Floyd Talley prepares to administer a COVID-19 test at Floyd's Family Pharmacy as cases of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) surge in Ponchatoula, Louisiana, Aug. 5, 2021.
Callaghan O'Hare/Reuters

According to federal data, these states have high or substantial transmission in every county: Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Jersey, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.

-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos

Aug 10, 2021, 11:04 AM EDT

New Americans getting vaccinated at the highest rate in over 2 months

New Americans are getting vaccinated at the highest rate in over two months, White House COVID-19 data director Cyrus Shahpar tweeted.

There are currently 166,524,108 Americans ages 12 and up who are fully vaccinated, according to the CDC.