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:
Louisiana hospitalizations reach all-time high
Louisiana now has 2,247 COVID-19 patients in hospitals -- a new all-time high for the state.
This surpasses the previous record set Tuesday of 2,112 patients, the state's Department of Health said.
Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards has reinstated a mask mandate for the month of August.
The governor said Wednesday that he won't mandate vaccinations for state employees until the FDA grants full approval.
He said 37.1% of the Louisiana population is fully vaccinated.
The Offspring drummer says he's not playing at upcoming shows because he's unvaccinated
Pete Parada, the drummer for pop-punk band The Offspring, says he is not playing with the band at upcoming shows because he is unvaccinated.
Parada wrote on Instagram that he's avoiding the shot on his doctor’s advice, saying he’s had a lifelong battle with the rare neurological disorder Guillain-Barré syndrome and the vaccine's "risks far outweigh the benefits."
Because he's unvaccinated, "it has recently been decided that I am unsafe to be around, in the studio, and on tour," Parada said.
"I have no negative feelings towards my band," he continued. "They're doing what they believe is best for them, while I am doing the same."
-ABC News’ Evan McMurry
Florida hospitalizations reach highest point in pandemic
Florida has 12,408 COVID-19 patients in hospitals -- the highest number to date of the entire pandemic.
Florida hospitals report that more than 95% of COVID-19 patients are not fully vaccinated, according to state data.
-ABC News’ Arielle Mitropoulos
Alabama hospital sees deadliest day of pandemic
Four COVID-19 patients at Regional Medical Center in Anniston, Alabama -- all unvaccinated -- died within 24 hours, marking the hospital’s deadliest day of the pandemic, The Anniston Star reported.
As delta surges, patients are now getting sicker faster, a doctor at the hospital told the newspaper.
Only 28% of residents in Calhoun County are fully vaccinated, according to The Anniston Star.
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