Delta has hospitals across U.S. down to their last ICU bed

The disease is outstripping any mitigation measures. In a few states, the unvaccinated are entering intensive care at rates matching the winter wave. The vaccinated are coming to realize that a sweet summer of release may have been a fantasy, as they again calculate the risks of working, seeing relatives and circulating in society.

Delta’s march began in the U.S. in the Ozarks and South, in states and regions with low vaccination rates. But the surge has shown that even the best vaccinated areas still don’t have enough immunity against the easy-spreading variant.

In Texas, where only half the population is vaccinated, Governor Greg Abbott on Mondayasked hospitals to postpone surgeries and ordered the heath department to seek help from doctors and nurses from other states. The governor, a Republican, didn’t lift his order banning government entities from requiring masks and social distancing.