COVID cases and deaths spike amid ‘pandemic of unvaccinated’

New COVID-19 cases, deaths and hospitalizations are spiking across the US again as the country battles a new crisis — a “pandemic of the unvaccinated,” White House officials said Friday. 

The most recent seven-day average of new infections jumped 70 percent from the previous average to about 26,300, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said during a morning briefing. 

Meanwhile, hospital admissions rose 36 percent to about 2,790 per day while deaths saw a 26 percent spike to 211 per day after several weeks of decline, Walensky said. 

“There is a message that is crystal clear: This is becoming a pandemic of the unvaccinated,” Walensky said.

“We are seeing outbreaks of cases in parts of the country that have low vaccination coverage, because unvaccinated people are at risk.”

Protesters holding placards gather at Indiana University's Sample Gates
Unvaccinated pockets of the country are continuing to keep the coronavirus in circulation.
SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

While the latest numbers are nothing close to what was seen in January — before widespread vaccination — when there was an average of 200,000 new cases per day, the highly contagious Delta variant will continue to ravage communities with low inoculation rates, Walenksy warned. 

“If you are not vaccinated, you remain at risk,” she said.

“We are going to continue to see preventable cases, hospitalizations and, sadly, deaths among the unvaccinated.”

A protester holds a placard during a demonstration at Indiana University's Sample Gates.
A protester holds a placard during a demonstration at Indiana University’s Sample Gates.
SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Americans who’ve gotten the jab remained protected against severe cases of COVID-19, including the Delta variant, Walensky reassured. 

As of Thursday, 160.4 million people are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, or about 48 percent of the population, CDC data show. 

An anti-vaccine rally protester
The highly contagious Delta variant will continue to ravage communities with low inoculation rates.
AFP /AFP via Getty Images

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