According to Dr. Rochelle Walsky, CDC Director, the seven-day average number of coronavirus cases per day in the U.S. has exceeded the peak last summer, when there was no approved Covid-19 vaccine. She cited data that was published over the weekend.According to data compiled and published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Covid cases reached 72,790 Friday based on a seven day moving average. This is higher than the average daily case peak last summer when the country was reporting approximately 68,700 new cases each day, according the CDC.According to the agency, the daily average of Covid cases has dropped to 68.326 new cases per Saturday and 63.250 new cases each Sunday.Data published by the CDC shows a decrease in daily case count over the next seven days. However, a separate dataset containing coronavirus data maintained by Johns Hopkins University doesn't show any decline. It shows an increase in the average daily case count to almost 80,000 per day over the seven days, as it was published on Sunday.Walensky stated that while we want to end this pandemic, Covid-19 still exists and the battle must continue. This is difficult. This is hard. We are all in this together. We continue to rely upon proven methods to protect ourselves, our kids, and our loved ones as we learn more about Covid."The comments of the CDC director come as Covid cases begin to rise in the U.S., with the highly contagious Delta variant fueling infections in areas with low vaccination rates.U.S. health officials urge more Americans to get vaccinated for Covid because the shots have been shown to be very protective against the new variant of the virus, particularly against death, severe illness, and hospitalizations.Updated CDC data from Monday showed that 70% of Americans have received at least one dose of the Covid vaccine.This milestone is approximately a month behind President Joe Biden’s original Fourth of July goal. Health officials have had difficulty convincing some Americans to get the shots.Some state and local officials offer incentives for getting vaccinated, or enforce mandates to increase the number of shots given.Although a small number of people who have been vaccinated can develop breakthrough infections, Walensky stressed Monday that the majority of the spread to the country is not among those who are vaccinated.She said, "Please get vaccinated if you're not vaccinated."
