California Sees Sharp Spike In Coronavirus Cases
Only a month after California dropped all of its Covid restrictions, numerous parts of California are seeing dramatic increases in Covid-19 infections that have prompted several counties to reinstitute mask requirements and heightened calls for reaching the unvaccinated.
Los Angeles County reported 3,058 new coronavirus cases on Friday as the Delta variant continues to spread at alarming rates across the state and globally.
This surge is primarily hitting unvaccinated people. However with the more contagious Delta variant rapidly traveling through California, additional measures, such as wearing masks in public places — can further armor everyone against transmission.
California’s hospitalization numbers have increased by 58%, according to New York Times data. The number of hospitalizations reached 655 on Friday, while a week before the number sat at 452.
Despite California being one of the most vaccinated states in the country, experts explain that the Delta variant’s strength is no match for the unvaccinated population. Since they found 99.6% of new cases there were in the unvaccinated.
California isn’t alone, CNN reported that all US states were now experiencing an increase in new cases, more than a year and a half into the pandemic. With only half the US population being fully vaccinated, health officials fear that the Delta variant could look similar to a few months ago if people remain unvaccinated.
With the nature of the response to the pandemic being highly politicized it’s been noted that hesitancy to receive the vaccine is high among Americans who identify as Republican. A PBS NewsHour/NPR/Marist poll conducted in March found that 41% of Republicans were resistant to getting the vaccine.
With extensive evidence showing that vaccines decrease the severity of the virus as well as decreases dramatically the likelihood of death, or hospitalization, health experts have said that the available vaccines provide strong protection, including against the known Covid variants. With vaccines readily accessible across the country experts continue to urge people to get vaccinated in order to control the spread of the virus.