Public Health

The U.S. has not widely adopted digital verification of vaccination against COVID-19, often referred to as "vaccine passports," although the use of such tools has sparked a debate about health privacy.

COVID-19 cases and test positivity rates are increasing in the U.S., though hospitalizations and deaths are down, according to the CDC's COVID Data Tracker Weekly Review published July 2.

About 1,000 U.S. counties, mostly in the Southeast and Midwest, have COVID-19 vaccination coverage of less than 30 percent, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, MD, said during a July 1 White House COVID-19 briefing. 

Springfield, Mo.-based Mercy Hospital ran out of ventilators July 4 as COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations spike in southwest parts of the state, according to a tweet from Erik Frederick, chief administrative officer at the hospital.

The Biden administration announced the launch of "surge response" teams to stop the spread of the delta variant in COVID-19 hot spots, a White House official told The Washington Post.

The Vaccine Community Connectors program, which was launched by AHIP and the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, has helped vaccinate more than 2 million people over 65 against COVID-19 in under 100 days, according to a July 1 news release.

President Joe Biden signed a bill into law June 30 that aims to increase access to mental health services for veterans in rural areas.

The delta coronavirus variant, first identified in India, is now the most commonly circulating strain in the U.S., according to sequencing data cited by The Wall Street Journal.

Nationwide, COVID-19 hospitalizations have declined 12 percent from two weeks ago, per The New York Times. 

In 2019, 26.2 percent of parents cited safety concerns or adverse effects as the main reason their teen would not receive the HPV vaccine, according to survey results published June 28 in JAMA Pediatrics.