The Delta strain is rapidly spreading across five states with the lowest vaccination rates in the nation.
Positive coronavirus infections are on the rise in the five states of Alabama, Louisiana, Wyoming, Idaho, and Mississippi, according to officials. According to the Associated Press, only 26 of the more than 11,000 COVID-19 deaths in Alabama since the pandemic began were those who had been vaccinated.
Just 44.7% of Alabama’s total population has received at least one dose against the coronavirus, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that tracks the 50 states and Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. Following Alabama are Louisiana with 44.1%, Wyoming with 42.3%, Idaho with 41.6%, and Mississippi dead last at 40.8%.
These figures pale in comparison to national stats. About 58% of the US population has received at least one dose against the coronavirus. When it comes to adults, about 71% have received at least one dose.
In Mississippi, the state with the worst vaccination rate in the country, a top health official on Thursday said the Delta variant is spreading “like a tsunami.”
“If we look at our trajectory, we see that it’s continuing to increase without any real demonstration of leveling off or decreasing,” State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs said at a press briefing.
