Forty percent of active coronavirus cases in the US are located in just three states while those with the worst infection rates are finally seeing an uptick in vaccinations as the spread of the highly-contagious Delta variant hammers the South.
Now weeks removed from the July 4 holiday, which medical professionals feared would cause a spike in coronavirus cases among the unvaccinated, the fourth wave of COVID has arrived, with cases almost exclusively coming from those who haven't gotten a shot.
Missouri, Florida and Texas now account for 40 percent of current cases nationwide, White House COVID-19 coordinator Jeff Zients said Thursday.
While the surges are alarming, Zients noted that several states with the highest proportion of new infections are now seeing higher vaccination rates than the nation as a whole - a sign that the threat of the fourth wave is finally hitting home.
It comes as officials in hard-hit states are ramping up calls for vaccinations - including Alabama Governor Kay Ivey, who on Thursday said 'it's time to start blaming the unvaccinated' for this wave of cases.
Cases in Florida have grown by 500 percent over the past two weeks
Cases in Missouri have grown by 108 percent over the past two weeks
Cases in Texas have grown by 162 percent over the past two weeks
Florida in particular accounts for nearly 20 percent of active cases.
The state recorded 12,647 new cases on Wednesday, the highest total the state has recorded since the massive winter wave of the virus.
Cases in the state have grown by nearly 500 percent in the past two weeks, with a seven day average of 1,493 new cases on July 6, and 8,912 on July 20.
A majority of the cases are among the unvaccinated as well.
Alabama Governor Kay Ivey (pictured) said that 'it's time to start blaming the unvaccinated' for the new wave of COVID-19 cases
'If you look at the people that are being admitted to hospitals ... over 95 percent of them are either not fully vaccinated or not vaccinated at all,' Governor Ron DeSantis said Wednesday.
'These vaccines are saving lives. They are reducing mortality.'
While DeSantis is a supporter of the vaccines, he has previously opposed vaccine mandates, even banning the use of vaccine passport in his state.
Florida has the most vaccinated population of any state in the south, though, with 56 percent of residents having received at least one shot of the virus.
The Indian Delta variant, a highly contagious strain of the virus that originated in the south Asian nation, accounts for more than 80 percent of active cases in the state as well.
Missouri was one of the
