Coronavirus | US COVID - 19 infections hit six-month high

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August 5 - The United States hit a six-month high for new COVID cases with over 100,000 infections reported on Wednesday, according to a Reuters tally, as the Delta variant ravages areas where people did not get vaccinated.

Seven of the United States with the lowest COVID - 19 vaccination rates - Florida, Texas, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi - account for half of the country's new cases and hospitalizations in the last week, White House COVID - 19 coordinator Jeff Zients told reporters on Thursday.

In the coming weeks cases could double to 200,000 per day due to the highly infectious Delta variant, said top U.S. infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci on Wednesday.

If another one comes with an equally strong capability of transmitting, but also is much more severe, then we could really be in trouble, reported McClatchy in a video from Fauci https: www.mcclatchydc.com news coronavirus article 253248688. html. People who think vaccination is just about them mistakenly? It's about everyone else, also.

To combat the delta surge, the United States plans to give booster shots to Americans with compromised immune systems, top U.S. infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci said Thursday in private message.

The United States is joining Germany, France and Israel in giving booster shots, ignoring a plea by the World Health Organisation to hold off until more people can get their first shots.

Some of the nation's highest COVID - 19 – cases are reported by southern states and hospitalizations. Florida, Texas and Louisiana reported the highest total number of new cases in the region over the last week, according to a Reuters analysis.

New infections caused additional pneumonia in Florida, which has emerged as the nationwide hotbed of new infections, set yet another grim hospitalization record on Thursday with 12,373 confirmed COVID 19 patients in its hospitals, according to data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

More children are hospitalized with the virus in Florida than any other state, according to HHS data.

23% of new COVID hospitals are in the U.S.A.S. and their hospitals are being overwhelmed again, white house press secretary Jen Psaki said on Wednesday. Biden called the state Governor, Republican Ron DeSantis, to join us in this fight after DeSantis accused Psaki of singling out his state.

Texas and Louisiana are also grappling with high rates of coronavirus patients in beds, according to a Reuters count.

Some private companies are also mandating vaccines for employees and customers.

As Delta spreads, some companies are delaying plans for workers to return to the office. Amazon.com, which originally set Sept 7 as the return date, on Thursday said it would not expect U.S. corporate employees to return to the office until next year, according to an internal note seen by Reuters.