The surge of Covid-19 infections for unvaccinated people is only
beginning, experts warn

Updated 3:40 AM ET, Sat July 31, 2021

Vaccine holdouts causing frustration for the vaccinated 03:03
With the recent increase of Covid-19 infections and hospitalizations due
to the spread of the more dangerous Delta variant, health experts and
officials expect the surge to worsen as long as large segments of the
country remain unvaccinated.

"I think we will see this big, steep acceleration," Dr. Peter Hotez, co-
director for the Center for Vaccine Development at Texas Children's
Hospital, said to CNN's Anderson Cooper on Friday. "As bad as things are
right now in the South, they are about to get worse for lots of
unvaccinated individuals."

Officials in Southern states, where vaccination rates have generally
lagged other parts of the country, are working to get the message out. In
Florida, Covid-19 cases have jumped 50% over the last week, according to
state health data.

If we want kids back in school and the economy to prosper, more of the US
needs to get vaccinated, expert says
If we want kids back in school and the economy to prosper, more of the US
needs to get vaccinated, expert says
In Georgia, the case rate has more than tripled over the last 14-day
period, the state Department of Public Health announced Friday as it urged
residents to get vaccinated since the Delta variant is more transmissible
than earlier Covid-19 strains.

"Unfortunately, we can expect Covid numbers to keep growing. People who
are unvaccinated or skip their second dose of vaccine are targets for
infection," said Georgia health commissioner Dr. Kathleen E. Toomey.

More Americans may be responding to the crisis, as recent data from the US
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows the pace of vaccinations
is going up. A seven-day average of more than 418,000 people are
initiating vaccination daily, which is the highest daily pace since July
5.
Entering the weekend, 49.5% of Americans of all ages are fully vaccinated,
according to CDC data. Nearly 33% of those eligible for vaccination --
those ages 12 and up -- have yet to receive at least one dose.

Nurses at a treatment tent outside the emergency department at Holmes
Regional Medical Center in Melbourne, Florida, which serves as an overflow
area for those with Covid-19 infections.
Nurses at a treatment tent outside the emergency department at Holmes
Regional Medical Center in Melbourne, Florida, which serves as an overflow
area for those with Covid-19 infections.
Mask mandates return for vaccinated and unvaccinated
Due to the increased transmissibility of the Delta variant, officials are
preaching for all Americans -- regardless of vaccination status -- to be
mindful of their surroundings.
Aerosols containing Covid-19 can travel as easily as the smoke from a
cigarette, Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious
Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, said Friday.
"If you want to understand what an aerosol is, just think of somebody
smoking," Osterholm told CNN. "If you can smell a cigarette in the
location you're at, then you're breathing someone else's air that may have
the virus in it."
New Orleans EMS can't keep up with calls due to the Covid-19 surge as
mayor restores a mask mandate
New Orleans EMS can't keep up with calls due to the Covid-19 surge as
mayor restores a mask mandate
Osterholm noted that while indoor transmission of the virus is the main
challenge, there are examples of Covid-19 being transmitted outdoors, when
people were close together for extended periods of time.
Because of this, mask mandates are making a return in more cities.
On Friday, the cities of Birmingham, New Orleans, and Louisville each
announced plans to reinstitute mask mandates to lower indoor transmission.
"If we take the steps that are necessary to squash the amount of disease
that is there now, we can do so in a matter of weeks, if we all get
vaccinated, if we wear masks," CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky told Fox
News on Friday.
The CDC this week changed its guidance on mask usage and advises
vaccinated people to resume mask wearing indoors in areas of sustained or
high transmission of the virus.
A recent study shows the Delta variant can produce similar amounts of
virus in both vaccinated and unvaccinated people, yet real-world data is
demonstrating that unvaccinated people are at much higher risk for severe
illness.
More than 80% of the US population � about 274 million people � live in a
county considered to have "high" or "substantial" Covid-19 transmission,
according to a CNN analysis of data published Friday by the CDC.
ICUs are filling up again
As the Delta variant spreads, hospitalizations are accumulating to levels
of concern.
Mississippi, which has one of the lowest rates of vaccination among US
states, is dealing with a skyrocketing level of Covid-19 patients needing
hospitalization.
Data from the Mississippi Department of Health on Friday showed that out
of 827 ICU beds statewide, only 107, or approximately 13%, are currently
available. All 88 beds in the University of Mississippi Medical Center's
intensive care unit, the state's largest, are full.
State Health Officer Thomas Dobbs said Thursday that hospitalizations are
beginning to be seen in younger age groups. He pointed to data that shows
88% of hospitalizations are among unvaccinated people, and it is having a
"significant spill-over effect to older, vaccinated Mississippians."
In Texas, Austin Public Health says the region is facing the lowest
staffed ICU bed capacity since the beginning of the pandemic, with only 16
staffed beds available.
Baton Rouge children's hospital nears capacity, braces for surge in
Covid cases ahead of the school year
Baton Rouge children's hospital nears capacity, braces for surge in Covid
cases ahead of the school year
"Our ICU capacity is reaching a critical point where the level of risk to
the entire community has significantly increased, and not just to those
who are needing treatment for Covid," Austin-Travis County Health
Authority Dr. Desmar Walkes said on Friday. "If we fail to come together
as a community now, we jeopardize the lives of loved ones who might need
critical care."
Throughout the state, several trauma service areas each had less than ten
ICU beds available on Friday, according to Texas health data. Some of the
areas affected include Amarillo, Wichita Falls, Abilene, Killeen, Waco,
Beaumont, and Victoria.
Florida healthcare facilities continue to prepare for the surge, as the
AdventHealth Hospital System stopped all non-emergency surgeries and
procedures due to high Covid-19 hospitalization.

AdventHealth Central Florida Chief Clinical Officer Dr. Neil Finkler said
on Friday that over 90% of the Covid-19 patients currently hospitalized
are unvaccinated.
"None of these patients thought they would get the virus, but the Delta
variant has proven to be so highly contagious that even the young and the
healthy, including pregnant patients, are now starting to fill up our
hospitals," Finkler said.