U.S. hits more than 1,000 COVID deaths in one day

The U.S. recorded more than 1,000 coronavirus deaths in a single day - about 42 fatalities per hour - for the first time since March, according to a Reuters tally.

The surge in deaths comes as the Delta variant continues to ravage parts of the country with low vaccination rates.

That point hammered home by the White House's Covid Response team on Wednesday.

"This remains a pandemic of the unvaccinated."

The Reuters tally from state data on Tuesday showed 1,017 deaths. That takes death toll from the pandemic to just under 623,000 people, the highest number of deaths officially reported by any country in the world.

The United States has reported more than 100,000 new cases a day on average for the past twelve days, a six-month high. The hardest hit region is the South. Florida reported a record of nearly 26,000 new cases last week, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Lakeside Medical Center north of Miami said 90 percent of hospitalized COVID-19 patients are unvaccinated. Palm Beach County Commissioner Melissa McKinlay said the hospital is simply out of intensive care beds.

"They've got 5 patients in their ER who are in desperate urgent need of an ICU level of care. I want something. What I don't want is a request for five caskets because I've had five people die while waiting for emergency health care."

The surge in deaths and cases comes as school districts across the country welcome students back from summer vacation - many being met with a battle over whether to mandate masks. The Florida State Board of Education voted this week to sanction two local school boards who defied the Republican governor and required children wear face coverings.

On Wednesday CDC director Rachelle Walensky, making the case for additional booster shots, said new data confirms that vaccine protection against COVID-19 decreases over time and is less effective against the Delta variant.