The CDC reported 103,444 new cases of COVID-19 August 4th. The seven-day average is about 89,463 cases per day. This represents an increase of 43 percent from the prior seven-day average, Rochelle Walensky, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported in a White House press briefing on August 6.
The seven-day average of hospital admissions is about 7,348 per day, an increase of about 41 percent from the prior seven-day period. And seven-day average daily deaths have also increased to 381 per day, an increase of more than 39 percent from the previous seven-day period and 614 new deaths reported to CDC on Tuesday.
Eighty-three percent of our counties in the United States are experiencing moderate or high transmission with Delta variant continuing to be the predominant circulating virus. Those at highest risk remain people who have not yet been vaccinated. Now is the time to get vaccinated.
Yelp is announcing a new feature that allows consumers to search for businesses with fully vaccinated workers or businesses that require proof of vaccination to enter the business.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of NIAID, continued the discussion on boosters and variants.
“I think we all know as cases have risen across the country due to the Delta variant, there are Americans who are wondering what this really means for them and their families. And today, I want to emphasize one fact that remains true, and that is that the vaccines are working against the Delta variant. They are highly effective at preventing severe disease, hospitalization and death. And they’re also effective at reducing the overall risk of infection. In fact, a recent study in the New England Journal of Medicine found that two doses of the mRNA vaccines are 88 percent effective against symptomatic COVID-19 infection with the Delta variant. So, breakthrough infections in fully vaccinated people are the exception, not the rule.
Fauci also commented on boosters, “As we’ve said, and continue to say, immunocompromised individuals are vulnerable. The reason is that it is clear now from the observational data that was made that they do not make with some exceptions, do not make an adequate response that we felt would be adequately protected. So, in this regard, it is extremely important for us to move to get those individuals their boosters. And we are now working on that, and we’ll make that be implemented as quickly as possible because, for us and for the individuals involved, it is a very high priority.”
