Nearly 74% of eligible Americans have at least 1 COVID-19 vaccine dose

In 13 states, over 80% of the population has at least one dose, CDC data shows.

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

More than 655,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 while over 4.6 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 62.7% of Americans ages 12 and up are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.


0

Former NBA player on 10th day in ICU

Former Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Lakers player Cedric Ceballos, 52, tweeted that he's on his 10th day in the ICU battling COVID-19.


Military medical personnel head to Idaho, Arkansas, Alabama

About 60 military medical personnel are heading in three, 20-person teams to Arkansas, Alabama and Idaho to help treat hospitalized COVID-19 patients following a request from FEMA, the U.S. Army North said.

The personnel, including doctors, nurses and respiratory therapists, were sent to hospitals in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho; Ozark, Alabama; and Little Rock, Arkansas.

Six teams had previously been dispatched to six other hospitals: three in Louisiana, two in Mississippi and one in Dothan, Alabama.


Crisis Standards of Care enacted as 'last resort' at 10 Idaho hospital systems

A Crisis Standards of Care plan has been enacted at 10 hospital systems in Idaho, which is only done as a "last resort," Dave Jeppesen, director of the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, said in a statement Tuesday.

The hospitals were chosen due to their "severe" shortages in beds and staffing as a result of a "massive increase" in COVID-19 hospitalizations, state officials said.

Crisis Standards of Care "means we have exhausted our resources to the point that our healthcare systems are unable to provide the treatment and care we expect," Jeppesen said. “This is a decision I was fervently hoping to avoid."

"When crisis standards of care are in effect, people who need medical care may experience care that is different from what they expect," state officials said. "For example, patients admitted to the hospital may find that hospital beds are not available or are in repurposed rooms (such as a conference room) or that needed equipment is not available."


75% of American adults have had at least 1 vaccine dose

Seventy-five percent of U.S. adults have now had at least one vaccine dose, Cyrus Shahpar, the White House's COVID-19 data director, tweeted Tuesday.


Sixty-four percent of U.S. adults are fully vaccinated, according to CDC data.


Texas suing 6 school districts over mask mandates

The Texas attorney general has filed lawsuits against six school districts that mandate masks, the office said Friday.

The lawsuits target the school districts of Richardson, Round Rock, Galveston, Elgin, Spring and Sherman for flouting Gov. Greg Abbott’s executive order prohibiting local entities from requiring masks -- what Texas Attorney General Ken Paxon referred to in a statement as "acts of political defiance."

In a statement to ABC News, Sylvia Wood, a spokesperson for Spring Independent School District, said the district had yet to be served and had no details about the lawsuit beyond a press release.

"Spring ISD will let the legal process unfold and allow the courts to decide the merits of the case," Wood said.

Elgin Independent School District Superintendent Jodi Duron also told ABC News the school district had not been served yet, and that schools in Travis County, part of Elgin ISD, are required to have students wear masks. "To the District’s knowledge, the Travis County Order has not been suspended," she said.

Round Rock Independent School District spokesperson Jenny LaCoste-Caputo told ABC News the school district is following Texas Education Agency guidance that allows for mask requirements "for adults or students for whom it is developmentally appropriate" and is working with local authorities "who advise us that masks remain an essential tool in stemming the spread of COVID-19 in our classrooms."

Sherman Independent School District told ABC News in a statement that it had not received any information on the lawsuit yet and for now "will continue to focus on promoting a safe and healthy learning environment for our students and staff."

ABC News has reached out to the other school districts for comment.

Nearly 90 school districts currently have mask mandates, according to a list compiled by Paxton's office. The attorney general anticipates more lawsuits if school districts "continue to defy state law," his office said in a statement.

Several school districts have sued the state to challenge the ban on mask mandates.

Last week, the Texas Education Agency said it is not enforcing the governor's executive order "as the result of ongoing litigation."