The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says the highly transmissible delta variant is the dominant strain in the U.S., accounting for nearly 51.7 percent of all cases.
The rise in cases also paints a clear picture of the divide between people who are fully vaccinated against Covid-19 and those who aren’t, prompting hospitals to brace for new case surges and health authorities to redouble vaccination efforts, according to FOX News.
In June, infections from the delta strain accounted for a 10 percent rise in daily Covid-19 cases to around 12,600 late last month, according to the CDC, adding that vaccines available in the U.S. protect against the Delta variant, and cases of breakthrough infection in the fully vaccinated appear to rarely result in severe illness.
Bridging the great divide is proving to be difficult
While the coronavirus pandemic was used as a political tool during the Trump administration, the fallout is still very evident in the vaccination rates between Democrats and Republicans.
Polls are showing that 86 percent of Democrats have received at least one dose of a Covid-19 inoculation — compared to just 45 percent of Republicans, while 38 percent of Republicans say they will definitely not get any doses of vaccine.
In some states where the vaccination rates are lower, the delta strain accounts for more than 80 percent of new infections. And of the 10 states where Covid-19 cases rose more than 10 percent in the last week, eight of them had Republican governors.
According to data from Johns Hopkins University, looking at the 2020 election results, 15 of the 16 states with the lowest percentage of residents fully vaccinated were won by Trump.
And Biden won 19 of the 20 electoral battles ranked by the highest percentage of the population that is fully vaccinated.
While there may be cultural, religious, demographic, and economic reasons for refusing to be vaccinated, there is an argument for the presence of a political undertone in the fight to control COVID-19.
And as long as the fierce political divide in this country continues to take center stage – more people will die from the coronavirus and all because of a former president who chose to undermine science and downplay the seriousness of the virus.
