Nearly 600 patients wait for hospital beds in Houston as city sees surge in COVID cases
According to the CDC, 46% of Texans have been fully vaccinated.
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.
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Washington governor issues vaccine mandate for state employees
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee announced Monday that he has ordered that all state employees must be vaccinated or face termination.
Inslee cited increased hospitalizations and cases throughout the state, which have mostly affected the unvaccinated, as the factor for his executive order.
"We do so to protect our vulnerable communities, to prevent further calamity to our state and to be further on the path to recovery," he said at a news conference.
The deadline for the vaccine mandate is Oct. 18. Inslee's executive order does provide medical and religious exemptions.
As of Aug. 2, 69.6% of Washingtonians 12 and older have received at least one dose of a vaccine, according to the state's health department.
"We need more people to roll up their sleeves," Inslee said.
Requests for help grow in Louisiana
In Louisiana, there are "major concerns about potential massive influx of patients" and significant staffing shortages, according to a Department of Health and Human Services planning document.
American Medical Response, a private ambulance company, sent 50 paramedics and 25 trucks to the hard-hit state on Friday, the document said.
A 13-person team from the Public Health Service Commissioner Corps is headed to Hammond, Louisiana, on Monday and a 14-person team is headed to Children's Hospital New Orleans, the document said.
Louisiana has also requested support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for entry screenings at colleges and universities.
-ABC News' Brian Hartman
Child hospital admissions see steepest increase of pandemic
Pediatric COVID-19-related hospital admissions in the U.S. have now seen their steepest and most significant increase since the onset of the pandemic, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The hospital rate is now equal to the highest point of the pandemic (January 2021).
Florida has the highest number of COVID-19-related pediatric hospitalizations, with 179 patients receiving care, according to federal data. Texas follows closely behind with 161 confirmed pediatric patients.
Severe illness due to COVID-19 remains "uncommon" among children, according to a weekly report from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Children’s Hospital Association (CHA). However, the two organizations warned that there is an urgent need to collect more data on long-term impacts of the pandemic on children, "including ways the virus may harm the long-term physical health of infected children, as well as its emotional and mental health effects."
-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos
Florida superintendent refuses to allow mask opt-out required by health department
The superintendent of schools in Leon County, Florida, which includes Tallahassee, announced Monday that parents cannot opt their kids out of wearing masks when the school year begins Wednesday.
"The goal is to keep our children out of the hospital," superintendent Rocky Hanna said. "Why would you not air on the side of caution?"
An emergency order by the Florida Department of Health over the weekend allows districts to let parents opt out of mask mandates without giving a reason.
By defying state rules, Hanna risks consequences from the state. Gov. Ron DeSantis' executive order on July 30 gave the education commissioner the right to pull funds from schools that fail to protect "parents' rights ... to make healthcare decisions for their minor children."
Hanna issued sharp words about any attempt to deny money for his school district."Any time you take money away from schools, you hurt children," he said.
DeSantis' press secretary, Christina Pushaw, told ABC News after Hanna's announcement that the financial consequences of such a breach of state rules would likely mean withholding the salary of the superintendent or school board members -- not money from kids.
-ABC News' Will McDuffie
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."