The delta variant now accounts for more than 25% of coronavirus cases in the United States, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show.
The U.K. variant, first detected in December, remains the most common variant in the United States.
Data between March 14 and June 19 show that the variant now accounts for an estimated 26.1%, according to the CDC.
More than 33.7 million coronavirus cases have been reported in the U.S., and more than 605,000 people have died, according to data from the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University, which has tracked reported infections throughout the pandemic. That includes at least 710,000 cases and 17,998 deaths in Massachusetts.
The number of new cases in Massachusetts has dropped below 100 in recent months. The state Department of Public Health reported 79 new cases Friday and another death. There were 98 hospitalizations reported, including 28 people in intensive care and 10 people who were intubated.
DPH did not release new data on Sunday, citing the Fourth of July holiday.
In an interview with “Meet the Press,” Dr. Anthony Fauci urged the public to get a COVID-19 vaccine and lamented that the vaccination efforts have been politicized.
“It’s really sad and tragic that most all of these are avoidable and preventable,” Fauci, the president’s chief medical advisor, said of COVID-related hospitalizations and deaths. “The overwhelming proportion of people who get into trouble are the unvaccinated, which is the reason why we say this is really entirely avoidable and preventable.”
As of Friday, 4.2 million of the roughly 7 million people in Massachusetts are fully vaccinated.
Data published last week suggest the Johnson & Johnson COVID vaccine was strong and persistent against the delta variant and lasts at least eight months.
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