With COVID cases rising sharply because of the delta variant, the CDC chief on Friday cast things in stark terms: "This is becoming a pandemic of the unvaccinated," said Rochelle Walensky, per the Hill. "We are seeing outbreaks of cases in parts of the country that have low vaccination coverage, because unvaccinated people are at risk." US cases overall are up 70% from the previous seven-day average, and average daily deaths are up 26% to 211 per day, NBC News reports.
Arkansas, Missouri, Florida, and Nevada, states with low vaccination rates of about 50% for people with at least one dose, are seeing the worst outbreaks. Walensky suggested regions with large unvaccinated populations consider restarting mask orders. “Communities that are fully vaccinated are generally faring well,” she said. About 48% of the country is fully vaccinated at present, while about 55% have at least one dose, according to the CDC. (Because of all this, Los Angeles is making masks mandatory again.)