Jesse Jackson, wife hospitalized with COVID-19
The civil rights pioneer was vaccinated in January.
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.
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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
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.
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.
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
Cases among Kentucky kids jump 400% in 1 month
COVID-19 cases among Kentucky children jumped 400% in the last month as a record number of kids have been admitted to hospitals, Gov. Andy Beshear announced Tuesday.
"Kentucky’s case numbers and positivity rate have continued to rise rapidly after record lows for the past year were recorded for both metrics in June," the governor's office said.
Kentucky's positivity rate stands at 12.4%.
As of Sunday, there were only 17 Kentucky counties where at least 50% of residents had at least one vaccine dose, the governor's office said.
Half of eligible Americans in all states have received at least 1 shot
Every state now has at least 50% of the eligible population (12 years and older) with at least one vaccine dose, White House COVID-19 data director Cyrus Shahpar tweeted.
Some states have over 80% of the eligible population with at least one dose, he added.
-ABC News' Alexandra Faul
Delta likely contributed to vaccine's waning protection: Murthy
U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy announced at Wednesday's White House briefing, "Having reviewed the most current data, it is now our clinical judgment that the time to lay out a plan for COVID-19 boosters is now."
Murthy said protection against mild disease has decreased, likely a combination of waning vaccine protection over time and the strength of the delta variant, and that the administration is "concerned" that protection could continue to erode.
"Even though this new data affirms that vaccine protection remains high against the worst outcomes of COVID, we are concerned that this pattern of decline we're seeing will continue in the months ahead, which could lead to reduced protection against severe disease, hospitalization and death," Murthy said.
"That is why, today, we are announcing our plan to stay ahead of this virus by being prepared to offer COVID-19 booster shots to fully vaccinated adults 18 years and older," Murthy said. "They would be eligible for their booster shot eight months after receiving their second dose of the Pfizer or Modern mRNA vaccines."
The boosters are set to begin Sept. 20, but Murthy emphasized that this is pending FDA authorization and also reiterated that does not yet apply to J&J recipients.
-ABC News' Cheyenne Haslet