I suppose what's especially concerning about these numbers is that they're actually higher than in the summer of 2020, when no one was vaccinated. That suggests that the Delta variant is far more contagious than the original, as it looks for hosts (read: humans) to infect.

Source: Associated Press

The U.S. is now averaging 100,000 new COVID-19 infections a day, returning to a milestone last seen during the winter surge in yet another bleak reminder of how quickly the delta variant has spread through the country.

The U.S. was averaging about 11,000 cases a day in late June. Now the number is 107,143.

It took the U.S. about nine months to cross the 100,000 average case number in November before peaking at about 250,000 in early January. Cases bottomed out in June but took about six weeks to go back above 100,000, despite a vaccine that has been given to more than 70% of the adult population.

As the Associated Press notes, the problem is everywhere, but is especially acute in the South, with their low levels of vaccination.

The virus is spreading quickly through unvaccinated populations, especially in the South where hospitals have been overrun with patients.

Health officials are fearful that cases will continue to soar if more Americans don’t embrace the vaccine.

“Our models show that if we don’t (vaccinate people), we could be up to several hundred thousand cases a day, similar to our surge in early January,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Rochelle Walensky said on CNN this week.

BREAKING: The U.S. is now averaging 100,000 new COVID-19 infections a day, crossing a milestone last reached during winter surge. https://t.co/m63DhPKzs1

— The Associated Press (@AP) August 7, 2021