Coronavirus vaccine and Delta variant updates for 7-21-2021

<p>This is Vaccine 411, the latest coronavirus vaccine information for July 21st, 2021.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>The CDC Director said the Delta variant is now estimated to make up 83% of all sequenced Covid-19 cases in the U.S. That’s a dramatic rise from 50% the week of July 3. Dr. Rochelle Walensky told a Senate hearing nearly two-thirds of the counties in the U.S. have vaccinated less than 40% of residents. Fatalities have risen nearly 48% over the past week.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>In the UK, seven areas have been identified as hotspots, meaning more than one in 100 people have the virus. More areas are fully expected to be added to the list in the coming days. COVID deaths in the UK spiked 61% from the previous week.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>As bad as COVID deaths have been in India throughout the pandemic, a new study shows just how undercounted deaths probably were there. The report from researchers at the Center for Global Development said it could be 10 times the official count, with deaths in the several millions not hundreds of thousands.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Struggling as it is with the Delta variant, the Houston Methodist hospital system in Texas reported its first case of the Lambda variant. That’s the variant first detected in Peru that makes up 81% of cases there since April 2021. The system’s medical director of Diagnostic Microbiology says Lambda is not yet a bigger concern than Delta since we know Delta’s much more contagious, and with higher viral loads.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>What a mess. The chief of the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee has not ruled out cancelling the Olympics at the last-minute. More athletes are testing positive and big sponsors have pulled out of Friday's opening ceremony. Overall, Tokyo is experiencing a new surge, with 1,387 cases recorded Tuesday.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>In the United States cases were up 195%, deaths are up 42%, and hospitalizations are up 46% over 14 days. The 7-day average of new cases has been trending up since July 5.&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>There are now once again over 5