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:
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
16 cases linked to July motorcycle event
Michigan health officials are urging attendees of a recent motorcycle event to get tested after 16 COVID-19 cases were linked to it.
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services said they are investigating the outbreak that was linked to the Muskegon Bike Time event, which was held from July 15 to 18.
Some individuals were at the event while they were infected, according to the health department.
"Attendees at Bike Time may have been exposed and are urged to get tested based on CDC’s latest guidelines," Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, the chief medical executive and chief deputy for health at MDHHS, said in a statement.
-ABC News' Darren Reynolds and Josh Hoyos
Bay Area reinstates mask mandate
Health officials from eight Bay Area counties, including San Francisco and the city of Berkeley, announced Monday they will be reinstating a mask mandate for all residents for indoor activities.
The new orders go into effect at midnight. The order comes as COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are on the rise in California, due to the delta variant, according to officials.
"While there may be slight differences between each jurisdictions' orders issued today, they all have one thing in common. A simple step, wearing a mask indoors to provide one more layer of protection for everyone," Dr. Chris Farnitano, the health officer for Contra Costa County, said at a news conference.
US 'may sooner or later get another variant' if spread not controlled: Fauci
Without control over the community spread of the delta variant, the virus has "ample opportunity to mutate," so "you may sooner or later get another variant," Dr. Anthony Fauci told "Good Morning America."
Fauci warned that it's possible a new "variant might be in some respects worse than the already very difficult variant we're dealing with now, which is a major reason why you want to completely suppress the circulation of the virus in the community."
There are still about 93 million eligible Americans who have not gotten vaccinated.
Fauci added, "People who say, 'I don't want to get vaccinated because it's me and I'll worry about me, I'm not having any impact on anybody else,' that's just not the case."
-ABC News’ Cheyenne Haslett