Jesse Jackson, wife hospitalized with COVID-19

The civil rights pioneer was vaccinated in January.

ByEmily Shapiro, Julia Jacobo, Morgan Winsor, Erin Schumaker, and Meredith Deliso
Last Updated: August 17, 2021, 4:29 PM EDT

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

More than 628,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 while over 4.4 million people have died from the disease worldwide, according to real-time data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.

Just 59.9% 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 17, 2021, 4:29 PM EDT

Hospitalizations could reach 32,800 per day by Sept. 1: Forecast

The U.S. could see as many as 32,800 hospitalizations per day by Sept. 13, according to the COVID-19 Forecast Hub at U Mass Amherst, which is used by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The low end of the forecast is 9,000 per day.

Dr. Julie Watson, Chief Medical Officer for INTEGRIS Health, speaks during a joint news conference from Oklahoma City area health providers, Aug. 18, 2021, in Oklahoma City.
Sue Ogrocki/AP

Currently, more than 11,249 patients are hospitalized with COVID-19 each day in the U.S., up from a daily average of 8,300 last week.

These forecasts suggest Florida, Louisiana and Texas hospitalizations may improve in coming weeks while other states, like California and New York, may see more hospitalizations.

A man wears a facemask as he arrives at a subway station in New York, Aug. 2, 2021.
Kena Betancur/AFP via Getty Images

-ABC News' Brian Hartman

Aug 17, 2021, 4:08 PM EDT

Mask mandate for US travel extended into January

The mask mandate for travelers on planes, trains and buses will be extended into January, according to a Department of Homeland Security source.

-ABC News' Sam Sweeney

Aug 17, 2021, 3:44 PM EDT

Most Florida hospitals expect 'critical staff shortages'

Three out of every four Florida hospitals "expect to face critical staff shortages" in the next week as hospitalizations likely continue to rise, Florida Hospital Association President and CEO Mary Mayhew said in a statement Tuesday.

"Half of our hospitals will no longer accept transfer patients from other facilities," Mayhew added.

Hard-hit Florida currently has 16,521 COVID-19 patients in hospitals and just 14.2% of hospital beds available, according to federal data.

-ABC News' Brian Hartman

Aug 17, 2021, 3:23 PM EDT

Alabama ICUs 99% full 

Five states have intensive care units over 90% full: Alabama (99.31%), Florida (91.63%), Georgia (91.03%), Mississippi (91.26%) and Texas (91.38%), according to federal data.

Medical professionals examine a portable defibrillator while familiarizing themselves with a COVID-19 mobile field hospital erected in a parking garage at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, Miss., Aug. 12, 2021.
Rogelio V. Solis/AP

Nationally, about 75% of adult ICU beds are occupied.

Florida has the nation's highest case rate, followed by Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Alabama, Texas, Hawaii, Missouri, Georgia and Kentucky, according to federal data.

As of Tuesday morning, more than 88,000 Americans were hospitalized with COVID-19, marking the highest number since Feb. 1, according to federal data.

Medics transfer a patient on a stretcher from an ambulance outside of Emergency at Coral Gables Hospital where Coronavirus patients are treated in Coral Gables, Fla., on Aug. 16, 2021.
Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images

The U.S. is recording about 500 COVID-19 deaths per day, which is nearly a 131% jump in the last month.

-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos

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