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While states like Missouri end a second month enduring a surge in COVID-19 cases as the more contagious delta variant spreads, public health officials across the country are hearing the same story from an increasing number of people getting the vaccine: someone they know recently caught the virus and the experience was unsettling. "We don't want to see more people getting sick as a driving force to get people vaccinated, but we know the case counts and more people in the hospital will play a role in that conversation," Dr. Sam Page, St. Louis county executive, told ABC News. (Mitropoulos and Haslett, 8/3)

White House COVID-⁠19 Response Coordinator Jeff Zients on Monday noted a "positive trend" across several southern states with an uptick in the number of people receiving the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. Louisiana has reported a 302% increase in the number of newly vaccinated people per day, Zients said during a White House briefing, with Mississippi reporting a 250% increase, and Alabama and Arkansas reporting a 215% and 206% increase, respectively. (Rivas, 8/2)

Kentucky’s vaccination rate against COVID-19 has taken a sudden upward turn as people seek to protect themselves from the highly contagious delta variant that has caused the most coronavirus cases in months, Gov. Andy Beshear said Monday. The delta variant is “spreading like wildfire” and puts the unvaccinated at significant risk, the governor warned, adding: “Please, go get vaccinated.” (Schreiner and Blackburn, 8/2)

A top Biden administration health official, visiting Gwinnett County in suburban Atlanta, said Monday that the FDA is relying on science and facts in its decision-making on giving full authorization to COVID-19 vaccines. As of now, COVID vaccines used in the United States have been authorized for emergency use. The wait for full authorization, though, has vexed some political and health care leaders. (Miller, 8/2)

In an interview Friday, Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, which regulates vaccines, said the agency is pursuing “an all hands-on-deck” strategy to accelerate an already expedited effort to grant full approval to the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. He said the agency was essentially “in a sprint” to complete the process. He also discussed the differences between emergency use authorizations, which are temporary clearances for public health emergencies, and full approvals, which remain in effect indefinitely unless a problem with a vaccine emerges. (McGinley, 8/2)

A surge in Covid-19 cases across the U.S. brought on by the fast-spreading delta variant is increasing pressure on U.S. drug regulators to fully approve Pfizer Inc.’s vaccine, the first one to apply for full licensure in the U.S. Full approval could help the Biden administration ramp back up its immunization drive and reassure vaccine holdouts that the shots are safe. It could also make it easier for more schools and workplaces to put immunization mandates in place. (Langreth, 8/2)

Metro’s top executive on Monday warned employees that the transit system might start mandatory coronavirus testing if the agency’s vaccination rate doesn’t climb to at least 70 percent. Metro General Manager Paul J. Wiedefeld said in a memo to employees that about 40 percent of Metro’s workforce has indicated being vaccinated in an employee database. Although he indicated that he suspected the low rate was partly because of underreporting, he said he planned to send technicians to Metro stations, garages and offices with electronic tablets to help workers upload copies of their vaccination cards. (George, 8/2)

Tennessee has sent nearly half a million dollars to farmers who have vaccinated their cattle against respiratory diseases and other maladies over the past two years. But Republican Gov. Bill Lee, who grew up on his family’s ranch and refers to himself as a cattle farmer in his Twitter profile, has been far less enthusiastic about incentivizing herd immunity among humans. (Loller, 8/3)

Nearly every type of media — newspapers, social media, websites, apps, online stores and television — shares some blame for the proliferation of misinformation influencing vaccine hesitancy in the U.S. Several recent studies and reports suggest that the COVID-19 infodemic has less to do with the failure of one medium than the lack of societal trust in key institutions that are struggling to deliver a clear and consistent message. (Fischer, 8/3)