Both COVID-19 cases and vaccination rates are rising, according to the CDC's COVID Data Tracker Weekly Review published July 30.

Among 469 COVID-19 infections tied to a number of summer events and large public gatherings in Barnstable County, Mass., about three-quarters of cases occurred in fully vaccinated people, according to the CDC's latest Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report published July 30. 

The Association of periOperative Registered Nurses and Chicago-based Chamberlain University will launch an online perioperative nursing training program in early 2022. 

The COVID-19 delta variant contains genetic changes that allow it to spread twice as fast as the original strain, Kaiser Health News reported.

The majority of U.S. counties — 69.3 percent — had a high or substantial level of community COVID-19 transmission as of July 27, according to CDC data. 

The delta coronavirus variant, first detected in India, appears to be as contagious as chickenpox and appears to cause more severe illness than earlier strains, according to an internal CDC slide presentation obtained by The Washington Post.

President Joe Biden is asking state and local governments to use funds from the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan to offer individuals $100 payments if they get vaccinated against COVID-19, The Hill reported.

People with a mental illness who contract COVID-19 are more likely to require hospitalization for the infection or die, two recent studies published in JAMA Psychiatry suggest. 

New Mexico has administered the highest percentage of COVID-19 vaccines it has received, according to the CDC's COVID-19 vaccine distribution and administration data tracker.

In rare instances, fully vaccinated people who experience breakthrough COVID-19 infections may develop prolonged symptoms, according to a small Israel-based study published July 28 in The New England Journal of Medicine.

New Jersey — which has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the U.S. — will establish a program letting new parents receive free at-home wellness checks from nurses, reports The New York Times.

The Association of periOperative Registered Nurses has canceled its in-person Global Surgical Conference & Expo due to rising COVID-19 case counts in Florida.

A Michigan man tested positive for Candida auris this spring, marking the state's first confirmed case of the deadly, drug-resistant fungus since the CDC started tracking it in 2016, the Detroit Free Press reported July 29. 

Nearly 60 percent of U.S. adults experienced pain of any kind the three months before being surveyed in 2019, according to a July 29 CDC report. 

B.1.621, a coronavirus variant first detected in Colombia, has been detected in about 10 percent of COVID-19 patients at Miami-based Jackson Health System, FOX News reported July 28.

Below are six national COVID-19 trends as the pandemic picks up:  

The CDC has released new testing recommendations for people fully vaccinated against COVID-19, advising vaccinated Americans to be tested if they are exposed to COVID-19, even if they don't have symptoms. 

President Joe Biden announced July 29 that all federal workers are to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or undergo regular testing, reports The Washington Post.

Vermont has the highest percentage of its population fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to the CDC's COVID-19 vaccine distribution and administration data tracker.

Thirty-seven states have joined the Nurse Licensure Compact, which allows registered nurses and licensed practical/vocational nurses to practice in person or via telehealth in all participating states under one multistate license.