Recent rise in COVID cases: ‘A pandemic of the unvaccinated’

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – As mask-wearing resumes in Los Angeles County, New Mexico’s COVID cases are continuing to rise.

Officials from L.A. County Board of Supervisors said they had no choice as new COVID cases surged.

"It’s not punishment, it’s prevention. We still have four million out of ten million people that haven’t been vaccinated," said Hilda Solis, from LA County Board of Supervisors. Federal health officials said 99% of people in the hospital with COVID are unvaccinated.

In Springfield, Missouri, there’s been a 150% increase over the last month.

"We know what the solution is. It’s vaccination. People need to get it. It’s readily available," said Ken McClure, Mayor of Springfield, Missouri.

In Arizona, health officials reported a spike in hospitalizations as 1,000 new daily cases came in for a fourth-straight day this weekend.

Data showed New Mexico is averaging about 134 cases a day, but that’s more than double the average of 62 from two weeks prior.

Health experts across the country urge people who are reluctant — to get a vaccine.

"This is a pandemic of the unvaccinated," said Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the CDC director.