With Hurricane Season Blowing In, White House Pushes Covid Shots

Axios: COVID Vaccines "Most Important" Step In Hurricane Preparedness — Biden Admin 
The "most important" step Americans should take to prepare for peak hurricane season is to get vaccinated against COVID-19 in case they have to evacuate, the White House said Tuesday. The statement followed President Biden's meeting on hurricane preparedness with senior FEMA officials and others, who advised him of the measure — hours before Tropical Storm Fred formed near Puerto Rico. Florida is in the path of the storm, which could possibly intensify into a hurricane. (Freedman and Falconer, 8/11)

In other updates on the vaccine rollout —

CBS News: New Vaccinations Have Nearly Doubled From Last Month, According To CDC Data
The average pace of first doses being administered across the United States has nearly doubled from a month ago, according to a federal government tally. The uptick is the latest sign of growing interest in the shots amid surging COVID-19 cases around the country and a push to vaccinate children ahead of the new school year. Nationwide, the country was averaging around 441,198 new vaccinations per day as of August 5, according to figures released Tuesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That represents a 95% increase from the mere 226,209 average of first doses recorded a month prior, on July 5. (Tin, 8/10)

Georgia Health News: Georgia’s Vaccine Rate Rises Amid COVID Spike; Incentives Coming? 
As the Delta variant drives a relentless COVID-19 surge, Georgia’s vaccination rate has picked up steam. A Washington Post analysis, based on CDC data, reported Tuesday that the state’s rate of new doses administered climbed 26 percent over the past week. The national vaccination rate rose 8 percent during the same time. Georgia has seen a spike in infections — especially in the southern part of the state — and had the ninth-most confirmed COVID cases per capita among the states and D.C. over the past week, the Post analysis shows. (Miller, 8/10)

ABC News: Rep. Steve Scalise Promotes 'Safe And Effective' COVID-19 Vaccine After Getting 2nd Shot 
With his home state of Louisiana setting new records for COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., on Tuesday encouraged residents to get vaccinated, touting the safety and efficacy of the vaccines and urging people to talk to their doctors about any concerns. "Instead of trying to blame people, let's encourage people to protect themselves," Scalise, who received his second dose of the Pfizer vaccine Tuesday morning, told ABC News Correspondent Kyra Phillips on ABC News Live. "In terms of hospitalizations, that's where you see people that aren't vaccinated showing up the most and so you want to encourage people to get it." (Siegel and Phillips, 8/10)

And more news about breakthrough infections —

The New York Times: See Covid Breakthrough Hospitalization And Death Rates By State
Serious coronavirus infections among vaccinated people have been relatively rare since the start of the vaccination campaign, a New York Times analysis of data from 40 states and Washington, D.C., shows. Fully vaccinated people have made up as few as 0.1 percent of and as many as 5 percent of those hospitalized with the virus in those states, and as few as 0.2 percent and as many as 6 percent of those who have died. (8/10)

The New York Times: Breakthrough Infections And The Delta Variant: What To Know 
Citing new evidence that vaccinated Americans with so-called breakthrough infections can carry as much coronavirus as unvaccinated people do, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last month urged residents of high-transmission areas to wear masks in public indoor spaces, regardless of their vaccination status. The announcement reversed the agency’s recommendation in May that vaccinated people could forgo masks. The vaccines remain highly effective at preventing severe illness and death, but the highly contagious Delta variant and persistent vaccine refusal have taken the country in an unexpected direction. Infections have spiked to the highest levels in six months. (Mandavilli, 8/10)

Los Angeles Times: Mayor's Crisis Response Director Says COVID-19 Vaccination 'Literally Saved My Life'
When Joe Avalos developed a dry cough a couple of weeks ago, he thought it must be his allergies acting up, or all the dust from the new development in his neighborhood. The reserve Los Angeles Police Department officer and director of Mayor Eric Garcetti’s Crisis Response Team did not think it was COVID-19, he said. After all, he’d received the Pfizer vaccination in December, and he was careful with social distancing and wearing his mask. “I was like, there’s no way,” Avalos said. But he was wrong. He did have COVID-19, from a breakthrough case of the highly contagious Delta variant, he said. And it almost killed him. (Rector, 8/10)