Updated July 16 Delta variant takes hold in U.S. as coronavirus cases rise nearly 70% ‘This is becoming a pandemic of the unvaccinated,’ says Rochelle Walensky, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. By Yasmeen Abutaleb and Frances Stead SellersThe Washington Post Share Nurses and doctors in the CoxHealth Emergency Department in Springfield, Mo., don personal protective equipment to treat patients with COVID-19 on Friday. Southwest Missouri is having a surge in delta variant cases, with hospitals nearing capacity and requesting help from the state for staffing and an alternative care site. Nathan Papes/The Springfield News-Leader via Associated Press