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COVID-19 cases in U.S. climb with daily average deaths hitting 1,800
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A doctor tends to a patient in a hallway at the Houston Methodist Hospital in Houston, Texas, U.S., August 18, 2021. /CFP

A doctor tends to a patient in a hallway at the Houston Methodist Hospital in Houston, Texas, U.S., August 18, 2021. /CFP

COVID-19 cases and related deaths in the U.S. have climbed back to levels not seen since last winter, erasing months of progress and potentially bolstering President Joe Biden's argument for his new vaccination requirements.

The U.S. is averaging over 1,800 COVID-19 deaths and 170,000 new cases per day, the highest levels respectively since early March and late January. And both figures have been on the rise over the past two weeks.

A notice explaining that proof of vaccination is required to dine inside is seen at a restaurant in midtown Manhattan in New York, U.S., September 13, 2021. /CFP

A notice explaining that proof of vaccination is required to dine inside is seen at a restaurant in midtown Manhattan in New York, U.S., September 13, 2021. /CFP

"A pandemic of the unvaccinated"

The cases – driven by the highly contagious Delta variant combined with resistance among some Americans to getting the vaccine – are concentrated mostly in the south.

Last week, the president ordered all employers with more than 100 workers to require vaccinations or weekly tests, a measure affecting about 80 million Americans. And the roughly 17 million workers at health facilities that receive federal Medicare or Medicaid will also have to be fully vaccinated.

"This is a pandemic of the unvaccinated," said Biden, when announcing the rules.

Anti-vaccine rally protesters hold signs outside of Houston Methodist Hospital in Houston, Texas, U.S., June 26, 2021. /CFP

Anti-vaccine rally protesters hold signs outside of Houston Methodist Hospital in Houston, Texas, U.S., June 26, 2021. /CFP

Infection rates are soaring in Kentucky, Georgia and Tennessee, fueled by children now back in school, loose mask restrictions and low vaccination levels.

The dire situation in some hospitals is starting to sound like January's infection peak when surgeries were canceled in hospitals in Washington state and Utah. There are severe staff shortages in Kentucky and Alabama, a lack of beds in Tennessee and intensive care units at or over capacity in Texas.

The vast majority of the dead and the hospitalized have been unvaccinated, in what has proved to be a hard lesson for some families.

"The problem now is we have been trying to educate based on science, but I think most of the education that is happening now is based on tragedy, personal tragedy," said Dr. Ryan Stanton, an emergency room physician in Lexington, Kentucky.

The U.S. is dispensing about 900,000 vaccinations per day, down from a high of 3.4 million a day in mid-April. On Friday, a Food and Drug Administration advisory panel will meet to discuss whether the U.S. should begin giving booster shots of the Pfizer vaccine.

(With input from AP)

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