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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Texas governor tests positive

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has tested positive for COVID-19, his office announced.


The governor is fully vaccinated and has no symptoms, his office said, adding that he's been tested daily.

Abbott is receiving Regeneron's monoclonal antibody treatment, his office said.

"Everyone that the Governor has been in close contact with today has been notified," his office said.

Abbott has banned mask and vaccination mandates in Texas.

According to The Houston Chronicle, the governor gave a speech Monday night to a crowd of about 600 people where there was little social distancing or mask-wearing.


Hospitalizations could reach 32,800 per day by Sept. 1: Forecast

The U.S. could see as many as 32,800 hospitalizations per day by Sept. 13, according to the COVID-19 Forecast Hub at U Mass Amherst, which is used by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The low end of the forecast is 9,000 per day.


Currently, more than 11,249 patients are hospitalized with COVID-19 each day in the U.S., up from a daily average of 8,300 last week.

These forecasts suggest Florida, Louisiana and Texas hospitalizations may improve in coming weeks while other states, like California and New York, may see more hospitalizations.


-ABC News' Brian Hartman


Mask mandate for US travel extended into January

The mask mandate for travelers on planes, trains and buses will be extended into January, according to a Department of Homeland Security source.

-ABC News' Sam Sweeney


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


mRNA vaccine efficacy dropped 'significantly' among nursing home residents: CDC

A new CDC analysis found that Pfizer and Moderna vaccine efficacy dropped "significantly" among nursing home residents from March to July, as the delta variant became the predominant strain in the United States.


Researchers analyzed weekly reports from thousands of nursing home facilities in the U.S. and found that mRNA vaccines were roughly 75% effective against preventing any infection in late winter/early spring of 2021, early in the mass vaccination rollout and prior to the emergence of the delta variant. By summer of this year, effectiveness against any infection had dropped to 53%.

Crucially, this doesn't mean vaccines aren't working for nursing home residents, but the significant drop in effectiveness from March to July may support the use of booster doses for them, according to the CDC report.

A second analysis found that the mRNA vaccines are holding up well against hospitalizations for COVID-19. The research, which was conducted across 21 U.S. hospitals, found that the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines remained between 84% and 86% effective against potential hospitalizations from March to July of this year. A third analysis, conducted in New York State, found that all three authorized vaccines remained more than 90% effective at preventing hospitalization from early May to late June.

-ABC News' Sony Salzman, Eric Strauss