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 13, 2021, 4:45 PM EDT

CDC director endorses recommendation for additional dose for immunocompromised

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's advisory panel voted unanimously Friday to recommend an additional dose of Pfizer or Moderna for immunocompromised people. (This recommendation applies only to people who already had an initial series of mRNA -- it does not apply to people who received J&J.)

A nurse administers a dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine in Jackson, Miss., Aug. 3, 2021.
Rogelio V. Solis/AP, FILE

Immunocompromised people will not need a doctor's note, prescription or proof of their condition to get their third dose, CDC officials said at Friday's meeting.

"This is a self-attesting. We do not anticipate -- we are not recommending that either prescriptions or a physician sign off, or be necessary for individuals to receive an additional dose of mRNA if they're immunocompromised," said Dr. Kathleen Dooling, Medical Officer for the Division of Viral Diseases, the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, and the CDC.

CDC Director Rochelle Walensky signed off on the recommendation later on Friday.

-ABC News' Cheyenne Haslett, Sasha Pezenik

Aug 13, 2021, 4:44 PM EDT

Mississippi governor says request for military hospital ship denied

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said Friday that the state's request for a military hospital ship has been denied by the federal government.

Reeves said the request for a ship "was as much about the over 500 personnel that come with it as it was the actual physical facilities." 

"I don't anticipate that the USS Comfort is going to come to Mississippi, although we would welcome any of the 550 health care professionals that are on that particular facility that the federal government would like to send us," he said.

-ABC News' Will McDuffie

Aug 13, 2021, 4:21 PM EDT

In Dallas 'your child will wait for another child to die'

Dallas has no ICU beds left for children.

"That means if your child’s in a car wreck, if your child has a congenital heart defect or something and needs an ICU bed, or more likely if they have COVID and need an ICU bed, we don’t have one," Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said at a Workers Defense Action Fund event.

"Your child will wait for another child to die," Jenkins added. "Your child will just not get on the ventilator, your child will be CareFlighted to Temple or Oklahoma City or wherever we can find them a bed, but they won’t be getting one here unless one clears. And that’s been true for 24 hours."

Aug 13, 2021, 4:15 PM EDT

Daily case average has skyrocketed nearly 884% since mid-June

The daily case average in the U.S. has surged to about 114,000, skyrocketing nearly 884% since mid-June, according to federal data.

A patient is unloaded from an ambulance, after Memphis Fire Chief Gina Sweat said that emergency services were overwhelmed by numbers of Covid-19 patients and that wait times should be expected, in Memphis, Aug. 13, 2021.
Karen Pulfer Focht/Reuters

PHOTO: A healthcare worker administers a Covid-19 test at a testing site in Mifflin Square Park in Philadelphia, Aug. 12, 2021.
A healthcare worker administers a Covid-19 test at a testing site in Mifflin Square Park in Philadelphia, Aug. 12, 2021. The City of Philadelphia issued new mask mandates to protect against the Delta variant, requiring masks to be worn indoors and at large outdoor gatherings.
Jae Bethel/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Several states, including Florida, Hawaii, Louisiana and Mississippi, are now experiencing their worst surge yet, averaging more daily cases than at any point in the pandemic, according to federal data. New York City's case average is now nearly five times higher than it was one month ago.

And more people are dying every day.

The nation's daily death average has now climbed to nearly 500, a 183% jump in the last month. Seven weeks ago, daily deaths were at their lowest point since late March 2020.

-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos