New deaths and cases of COVID-19 erupted across the country last week as the nation continues to fight a “pandemic of the unvaccinated,” White House officials said Tuesday.
The last seven-day average of daily deaths from COVID-19 was 739, 23 percent more than the previous week, CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said during a briefing.
While the average daily hospitalization rate of 11,000 remained close to the previous week’s figure, the seven-day average for new cases jumped nearly 12%, with some 137,000 new infections reported each day, said Walensky.
“As cases, hospitalizations, and deaths continue to increase, I want to re-emphasize the serious risk of COVID, especially for the unvaccinated, and the importance of vaccines in preventing serious illness and saving lives,” Walensky said.
As the highly transmissible variant of Delta continues to spread among vaccinated and unvaccinated Americans, Walensky shared data showing that vaccines are still very effective against serious COVID-19 diseases.
A nationally representative sample of COVID-19-related hospitalizations between January and July showed that unvaccinated people were 17 times more likely to end up in hospital compared to those who received the shot.
Walensky also shared data from a study in Los Angeles County that found that unvaccinated residents were five times more likely to become infected and 29 times more likely to be hospitalized with the virus than vaccinated people.
“These data remind us that if you’re not vaccinated yet, you’re among those most at risk,” Walenksy warned.
“The Delta variant of the Sars-Cov-2 virus is highly transmissible, accounts for more than 98% of COVID cases here in the United States, and is causing infections, hospitalizations, and deaths across the country,” he said. “Please do not underestimate the risk of serious consequences of this virus.”
On Monday, the FDA announced that it has fully approved the Pfizer vaccine for use, and Walensky encouraged those who have been at the fence about taking the shot to talk to their doctor and evaluate their decision.