Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


US Experiencing 'A Pandemic of the Unvaccinated'

VOA News

   The U.S. is experiencing a rise in COVID-19 cases and deaths. The
   highly transmissible delta variant of the coronavirus among
   unvaccinated people is largely responsible for the outbreak.

   Four states with low vaccination rates were responsible for 40% of last
   week's new cases, but cases have risen in all 50 states, officials say.

   Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and
   Prevention, said Friday that last week the U.S. had a daily average of
   26,000 new cases. She said the outbreak has become "a pandemic of the
   unvaccinated." Later Friday, U.S. President Joe Biden repeated
   Walensky's assessment, saying, "The only pandemic we have is among the
   unvaccinated."

   A group of international government advisers say they are concerned
   about England's plans to lift virtually all its pandemic restrictions
   Monday. The advisers believe that would leave Britain susceptible to
   new coronavirus variants, possibly transforming the country into a
   superspreader location.

   Elsewhere, there is worry that Tokyo's Olympics could become a
   superspreader event after an unidentified person inside the Olympic
   Village tested positive for the coronavirus. The person is reportedly
   not an athlete, but someone from abroad helping to organize the games.

   "The case is one of 15 new positive results among games participants
   and workers reported on Saturday, the highest daily count since the
   committee started compiling figures on July 1," Kyodo news service
   reported.

   "There have been a total of 45 COVID-19 infections announced by
   organizers since July 1," according to Kyodo.

   Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center said Saturday that there have
   been more than 4 million global COVID-19 deaths. More than 189 million
   cases have been confirmed, according to Johns Hopkins.