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.
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Home Depot, Lowes issues mask requirement for associates
Two of the nation's largest hardware chains announced new rules when it comes to masking among their employees and customers.
Both Home Depot and Lowes said it will require all of their associates, contractors and vendors to wear a mask while inside one of their stores, warehouses or other facilities, effective Monday. The rule also applies if the employees are working in a customer's home or business.
When it comes to customers, each chain had its own rules.
Home Depot said it will "ask customers to wear masks while in our stores and continue to offer masks to those who don’t have one." Lowes said its stores "will have signs encouraging customers to wear masks, and free masks will continue to be available for customers who request them."
-ABC News' Brian Hartman
NY's largest health provider issues testing mandate for unvaccinated employees
Northwell Health, the latest health provider in New York state, announced it will require all employees to get the coronavirus vaccine, or face regular weekly testing, a spokesperson told ABC News.
The policy goes into effect on Aug. 16.
Northwell, which operates 23 hospitals and more than 830 outpatient facilities in New York and has over 76,000 employees, was already requiring new hires to be vaccinated.
As of Monday, 77% of the health provider's entire staff were vaccinated, the company said in a statement.
Those who fail to get tested "in a timely manner" will face disciplinary action, including termination, according to the spokesperson.
"We believe it is our obligation to set an example for the community by getting our team members vaccinated," Northwell said in a statement.
-ABC News' Sasha Pezenik
Vaccinations up more than 200% in hardest hit states: White House
White House COVID coordinator Jeff Zients touted the recent increase in vaccine rates across the country during a briefing Monday.
He said last week the U.S. reached its highest day seven-day average of vaccinations since July 4th, and 3 million Americans got their first shot in the past seven days.
Zients noted that the most significant increases were in the states with the highest COVID-19 rates, where vaccination rates have doubled and, in some cases, tripled.
"Louisiana has seen a 302% increase in the average number of newly vaccinated per day, Mississippi, 250%, Alabama 215% and Arkansas 206%," Zients said.
He reiterated that the jump in vaccines will help to bring cases down throughout the country.
-ABC News' Cheyenne Haslett
Provincetown 'well on our way to containment,' official says
The town leader of Provincetown, Massachusetts, said the city is "well on our way to containment" following the outbreak of over 880 COVID-19 cases since July.
Provincetown Town Manager Alex Morse said in a Facebook post Monday evening that the total number of active cases among Provincetown residents decreased to 59.
Positivity rates have been under 5% the last three days, down from a peak of 15% on July 15, according to Morse.
"The number of people recovering each day far exceeds the number of new cases being added. We are optimistic this will continue," Morse wrote.
As of Monday, 882 people, including 231 Provincetown residents, have contracted the coronavirus since the cluster cases emerged following the Fourth of July weekend.
Only seven hospitalizations associated with this cluster have been reported to date two of whom were out of state residents, and those patients have been released, health officials told ABC News. No deaths from this cluster have been reported so far, Morse wrote.
-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos
Single-shot J&J vaccine effective against delta and beta variants: Study
A real-world study of South African health care workers found that the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine was highly effective against the delta and beta variants, according to the South African Medical Research Council, which presented the results Friday.
The vaccine was between 91% and 96% effective against death, according the study, which included more than 477,000 health care workers. J&J showed stronger protection against the delta variant, now dominant in the United States and South Africa, than it showed against the beta variant.
"The data reported today by South African investigators show that a single shot can protect against death due to COVID-19 in the most challenging epidemiologic setting: A massive delta surge in Africa," said Dr. Dan Barouch, director of the Center for Virology and Vaccine Research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, who helped invent the J&J shot but was not directly involved in the South Africa study.
While the results have not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal, they may serve as a reassuring data point as the delta variant sweeps the U.S.
Glenda Gray, president and CEO of the South African Medical Research Council, who led the study, said at the Friday press conference that the J&J vaccine showed good durability, an indication that there's no need for booster shots just yet.
-ABC News' Sony Salzman.