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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7-day average of daily US vaccinations highest since June

The nation’s current seven-day average of 481,000 new COVID-19 vaccinations a day is the highest rate recorded since June 18, White House COVID Data Director Cyrus Shahpar said.

More young Americans are getting shots as well, with the daily average of 12-to-15-year-olds doubling over the last month.


Florida reports over 134,000 new COVID-19 cases in past week

Florida’s COVID-19 cases have continued to soar week after week, with 134,506 new virus cases reported over the past week, according to the state Department of Health.

That beats last week’s weekly record of 110,420 new infections.

Now the weekly case positivity rate in the state stands at 18.9%. There were also 175 virus deaths reported over the past week.

-ABC News’ Joshua Hoyos


409 positive cases at Tokyo Olympics

As of Saturday, there are 409 positive COVID-19 cases at the Olympics, According to Tokyo 2020's coronavirus case list.

That is an increase of 22 cases since Friday.

All of the people who tested positive are either Games-concerned personnel, Tokyo 2020 contractors, media or volunteers. One Games-concerned employee was in the Olympic Village at the time of their positive test.


Amazon mandates warehouse workers wear masks

Amazon said Friday it was mandating all 900,000 of its warehouse workers wear masks, regardless of whether they are vaccinated.

The company had previously only required unvaccinated workers to wear masks. It blamed the change on the increasing risk presented by the delta variant.

"In response to the concerning spread of new COVID-19 variants in the U.S. and guidance from public health authorities and our own medical experts, we are requiring face coverings indoors regardless of vaccination status," Amazon said in a statement. "We are monitoring the situation closely and will continue to follow local government guidance and work closely with leading medical healthcare professionals, gathering their advice and recommendations as we go forward to ensure our buildings are optimized for the safety of our teams."

Many companies have taken the added step of requiring vaccinations, including fellow tech giants Google and Facebook.


US records highest number of daily vaccinations since July 3

The U.S. has seen 864,000 vaccinations in the last 24 hours, the highest daily number since July 3, White House coronavirus response coordinator Jeff Zients said Thursday.

Among those 864,000 vaccinations were 585,000 first shots -- the highest since July 1.

Zients said "Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Alabama, Oklahoma and Mississippi are now vaccinating people at a pace not seen since April."

Tennessee has seen a 90% increase in first shots over the past two weeks and Georgia has recorded a 66% increase in first shots in the last two weeks.

However, seven states -- Florida, Texas, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi – which have some of the lowest vaccination rates, "account for about half of new cases and hospitalizations in the past week, despite making up less than a quarter of the U.S. population," Zients said.

-ABC News’ Cheyenne Haslett