Cases of the highly infectious Delta variant of COVID-19 have skyrocketed in five U.S. states, according to the latest released figures.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released data collected over a four week period ending on June 19 showing the prevalence of the Delta variant in 25 U.S. states.
The data concluded that the areas with the highest proportions of the Delta variant—or B.1.617.2— among their cases are Missouri at 74.6 percent, Nevada at 44.1 percent, Colorado at 36.5 percent, California at 31.1 percent and New Jersey at 28.6 percent.
These statistics represent a dramatic increase from the last set of data that analyzed cases up until June 5, which showed the three highest figures as Missouri at 29.9 percent, Colorado at 12.2 percent and New Jersey at 10.2 percent.
The CDC data only covers states with at least 300 sequences from collected specimens. This is done so that scientists can monitor shifts in the virus into new variants, to see how these changes affect its characteristics.
In Missouri—one of the poorest U.S. states—46 percent of residents had received at least one dose of the COVID vaccine by July 13, while in Nevada that figure was at 51 percent, according to data compiled by The New York Times.
At least 59 percent of the population have received one dose in Colorado, 63 percent have had their first shot in California and 64 percent have been administered at least one dose in New Jersey.
Around 48.1 percent of the U.S. population has now been fully vaccinated, as at least 55.6 percent of the total population have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, according to CDC data.
On Tuesday, the CDC also announced that the Delta variant now accounts for around 57.6 percent of all Covid-19 cases in the country, according to ABC News.
This is an increase from the 31.1 percent found in the data from the two weeks previous. The CDC said in May that the figure was at just 3 percent in the country.
Newsweek has contacted the CDC to ask if there are further figures for a more recent time period.
The variant, which was first detected in the U.S. in March, has now been found in all 50 states and has been reported in at least 104 countries.
At a press conference on Monday evening, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned of the rampant spread of the Delta variant and its effect on countries across the world.
"The delta variant is ripping around the world at a scorching pace, driving a new spike in cases and death," he said.
"In places with high vaccination coverage, Delta is spreading quickly; especially infecting unprotected and vulnerable people and steadily putting pressure back on health systems."
During a press conference on July 1, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky raised concern about the Delta variant and said that "it's clear that communities where people remain unvaccinated are communities where people remain vulnerable."
At the same press conference, COVID response coordinator Jeff Zients said that the rise of the variant has prompted the administration to deploy COVID-19 surge response teams to contain it.
"These are dedicated teams working with communities at higher risks for or already experiencing outbreaks due to the spread of the Delta variant and their low vaccination rate," he said.
Zients said that the teams will help expand detection of the virus, deploy federal personnel to support local staff, and increase vaccination rates among unvaccinated communities in the U.S.
