By Carl O’Donnell and Lisa Lambert
(Reuters) – Around 14 million U.S. residents received their first dose of a COVID-19 shot in August, about 4 million more than in July, White House officials said Tuesday, as the U.S. government continues to urge Americans to get vaccinated amid rising cases of the coronavirus.
The average number of daily cases in the United States is around 130,000, up from lows of fewer than 12,000 in late June, according to federal data, as the highly contagious new Delta variant continues to spread.
The seven-day average of daily deaths is up to nearly 900, higher than in the previous week, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, said on a press call.
(Reporting by Carl O’Donnell; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
