COVID-19 death toll in the US surpassed 700,000 following a surge in transmission over the summer

• The US hit another pandemic milestone this week as the COVID-19 death toll surpassed 700,000.
• Southern states with low vaccination rates experienced high COVID-19 transmission over the summer.
• Despite the availability of the vaccines, 67% of adults are fully vaccinated, according to the CDC.

The COVID-19 death toll in the US surpassed 700,000 on Friday, with approximately 2,000 new deaths being reported each day, according to data compiled by The New York Times.

The emergence of the more-transmissible Delta variant fueled case surges throughout the summer, particularly in Southern states with low vaccination rates.

From setting up patient overflow tents to enlisting mobile morgues and out-of-state medical personnel, some Southern governors tried to keep their hospital systems afloat while simultaneously banning mask mandates and relaxing lockdown restrictions.

According to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, almost every state in the country is currently experiencing "high" community transmission of COVID-19.

Hospitals throughout the US have experienced severe staffing shortages and influxes of COVID-19 patients, with many frontline workers quitting due to exhaustion, post-traumatic stress disorder, and poor work environments.

"The stress of working in a COVID ICU, and all the death that I've had to see, altogether, it has really set me back; I'm often very anxious, and angry," Sarah Chan, a registered nurse at St. Joseph's Hospital in New York, told Insider's Allana Akhtar. "So much death weighs heavy on me."

As of last week, COVID-19 has killed more Americans than the influenza pandemic of 1918-19, during which there was no flu shot to protect against infection. As of Friday, 67% of US adults were fully vaccinated, according to the CDC.

Approximately 70 million eligible Americans remain unvaccinated, NPR reported. The White House and public health officials continue to encourage Americans to get the shot.