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.


0

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


How New York City botched COVID-19 response: Report

New York City botched its COVID-19 response, according to an investigation conducted by Scott Stringer, the city's comptroller, who released findings from his inquiry Wednesday.

According to Stringer, key emergency response agencies, including the health department and the NYPD, were intentionally excluded from communications and decision-making "when time was of the essence."

The comptroller also described persistent confusion about the chain of command between agencies and a significantly delayed response to the pandemic.

Officials waited until late February to even begin planning for a worst-case scenario, despite knowing about the impending crisis in January. Stringer called on the mayor, as well as the future mayor, to conduct a thorough review of the city's emergency planning process.

"We cannot erase the mistakes of the past," he said. "But we can make sure we are prepared for future emergencies."

-ABC News' Aaron Katersky