COVID-19 cases climb in U.S., deaths remain low

The ultra-contagious delta variant of the coronavirus is spreading rapidly in the country. The seven-day rolling average of daily new COVID-19 cases now stands at about 24,000, up from 12,000 in late June.

Are vaccines helping? Statistics reported by Worldometer and Johns Hopkins University indicate that though the number of cases is quickly climbing, average daily deaths and hospitalizations from the virus are rising at a much slower rate—if at all. Studies have shown that the vaccines available in the United States are slightly less effective at preventing illness from the delta variant than from the original strain of COVID-19, but they still reduce the risk of hospitalization by 96 percent.

Dig deeper: Read John Dawson’s report in Beginnings about the delta variant.