Protests against mandated COVID-19 vaccines pop up across US
Pushback is happening over vaccine requirements and mask mandates.
The United States is facing a COVID-19 surge this summer as the more contagious delta variant spreads.
More than 615,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 and over 4.2 million people have died worldwide, according to real-time data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.
Just 58.4% of Americans ages 12 and up are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC last week, citing new science on the transmissibility of the delta variant, changed its mask guidance to now recommend everyone in areas with substantial or high levels of transmission -- vaccinated or not -- wear a face covering in public, indoor settings.
Latest headlines:
Hawaii issues vaccine rules for state, county employees
Hawaii Gov. David Ige announced Thursday that all state and county employees must show proof of COVID-19 vaccination by Aug. 16 -- or be subject to weekly testing.
Those who don’t comply "could be subject to termination," Ige said.
It is unclear how many state and county workers are already vaccinated.
The mandate comes as the number of cases and hospitalizations in the state are "trending up dramatically," Ige said.
Maryland and Virginia announced similar measures earlier Thursday.
Delta 'sweeping over Mississippi like a tsunami': Official
Mississippi is facing "a phenomenal increase in daily reported cases of COVID, and this is entirely attributable to the delta variant, which is sweeping over Mississippi like a tsunami," state health officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs said Thursday.
Dobbs said 97% of new cases are among the unvaccinated, and that 89% of hospitalizations and 85% of deaths are unvaccinated.
Dobbs pleaded with the public to get vaccinated, stressing that the unvaccinated population is driving the current surge, but that vulnerable, vaccinated people are suffering the fallout.
"There is going to be some collateral damage, unfortunately, even folks who've done everything they can to protect themselves," Dobbs said.
"The minority of folks who are vaccinated and hospitalized are overrepresented by the older and those with weaker immune system, so we're seeing a pretty dramatic spillover effect from the transmission in the community to more vulnerable parts of our population," he said.
-ABC News' Soorin Kim
New state employee vaccination rules issued in Virginia, Maryland
In Virginia, all 120,000 state employees must be vaccinated by Sept. 1, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Thursday.
About 72% of employees are already vaccinated.
Anyone who chooses not to be vaccinated must get tested weekly, he said.
In Maryland, state employees at 48 state facilities must be vaccinated by Sept. 1, "or adhere to strict face covering requirements and submit to regular, ongoing COVID-19 testing," Gov. Larry Hogan said.
The 48 facilities on the list include the Department of Health, Department of Juvenile Services, Department of Public Safety and Corrections and Department of Veterans Affairs.
-ABC News' Jamie Aranoff
Only 2 states not experiencing high or substantial community transmission
Nearly every state in the country is now experiencing case and hospitalization increases. Only two states -- Vermont and Maine -- are not reporting high or substantial community transmission, according to federal data.
The U.S. is now experiencing its steepest increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations since the winter. More than 61,000 patients are now hospitalized across the country with COVID-19, according to federal data. About one month ago, 12,000 patients were in U.S. hospitals.
With 80% of Americans 65 and older fully vaccinated, the burden has largely shifted to younger Americans. As of July 24, Americans between the ages of 18 and 49 made up nearly 40% of COVID-19 hospital patients, according to federal data.
-ABC News’ Arielle Mitropoulos
Louisiana respiratory therapist: ‘We see families destroyed’
In Louisiana, which has the nation's highest case rate per 100,000 residents, COVID-19 hospitalizations are reaching peak levels, with more than 1,700 patients now receiving care.
"We're seeing people that are way too young to be so sick," David Wrightson, a respiratory therapist and ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) specialist for the Willis-Knighton Health System in Shreveport, Louisiana, told ABC News. "We see families destroyed. We see children without one or more parent because of this virus. We see a new mom who will never go home to see her newborn, will never see her child grow up."
He went on, "When you see someone that's 30 years old with no medical problems at all, nobody knew anything was wrong, and we have this person literally on death's doorstep, doing everything in our power to turn them around and return them to their family. The vaccine is something worth getting."
More people need to see and understand the reality of this disease, he said.
"I wish I could show them a few steps in our day to see what we see and to see what we have to do, and to go home at night and, and have nightmares about those things, and sometimes cry yourself to sleep," he said.
-ABC News’ Erica Baumgart and Arielle Mitropoulos