4 states where COVID risk calls for extra caution this July 4th weekend

Warning signs began to flash this week as national declines in COVID cases slowed, and many states saw cases increase. 

State with low vaccination rates leading new daily cases  Twenty states showed an increase in average daily cases as of July 1. Nevada increased more than 100%, while most others were in the 20-30% range. All but five of these states were below the national average for fully vaccinated individuals, driving concerns that these outbreaks are centered on unvaccinated communities. 

Low vaccination rates still problematic  Vaccination rates are still shrinking across the nation. Currently, about 650,000 doses are being administered every day, compared to more than 3.3 million in April. Now, almost 47 percent of the total population is fully vaccinated.

4 States present increased risk Case increases caused Nevada, Wyoming, Missouri and Arkansas to move from low to moderate COVID-19 risk on the HealthWeather COVID Map. Each of these states also has a higher than usual rate of transmission (Rt). Rt is an indicator of how many people become infected on average from each sick individual. If Rt is above 1, the number of people experiencing fevers will increase.

Conclusion: If cases in these states, and others, continue to rise, the national average will likely begin to trend upward in the next one to two weeks.