Hundreds of emergency military doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals are being sent to southern U.S. states hit by a "dire" surge in COVID hospitalizations due to the Delta variant.
Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama are among the worst to be hit by the variant, with low vaccination rates seen as a driver of the latest surge. So far, only 39 percent of people in AL have received both doses of a vaccine, compared to 68 percent in Vermont.
The U.S. continues to average over 100,000 new COVID cases each day - most of them the Delta variant - and is averaging over 1,300 deaths.
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Florida remains most affected by Delta variant deaths
As the U.S. grapples with a coronavirus surge fueled by the Delta variant, Florida currently has the highest death rate among all the states.
According to The New York Times COVID-19 tracker, Florida—the third largest state by population—has a death rate of 1.56 per 100,000 people over the last seven days.
Florida has averaged 15,462 new daily cases over the past week, a rate of 72 per 100,000.
Biden to unveil 'six-pronged strategy' to deal with Delta variant surge
The president will set out his administration's strategy to deal with spiraling hospitalizations on Thursday, according to White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki.
The plans include asking the "public and private sectors to help" but no more details are being released until tomorrow, Newsweek understands.
U.S. is over 50 percent fully vaccinated
The vaccination rate of those with two doses or full protection now stands at 53 percent, according to Johns Hopkins University and the CDC.
Good vibes alert! America is over 50% vaccinated, according to @CDCgov. pic.twitter.com/9GULfs1Drp
— Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (@JohnsHopkinsSPH) September 7, 2021
'We don't feel appreciated': Nurses in Alabama protest pay and conditions
Healthcare staff are protesting unequal compensation and poor working conditions as hospitals in the state cope with a surge in Delta cases.
WIAT, a local CBS affiliate, reports that more than two dozen nurses at UAB Hospital in Birmingham, Alabama refused to clock in for the night shift on Monday and instead gathered outside the hospital to demonstrate.
"It has been very overwhelming," one nurse told WIAT. "We don't feel appreciated. We want someone to come down and be willing to negotiate with us."
READ MORE: Alabama Nurses Protest Wages, COVID Working Conditions
