The eight states that make up half of all Covid cases in the US

Eight states now make up half of all coronavirus cases in the US, as infections continue to surge as a result of the more transmissible Delta variant.

Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada and Texas make up approximately 51 per cent of patients across the nation, a CNN analysis has revealed.

The high numbers come despite the fact that the eight states account for only around 24 per cent of the country’s population, the broadcaster said.

Many of the states seeing surges are those with vaccination rates trailing behind the national average. However, outbreaks are also becoming more widespread across the US.

The three states with the worst vaccination rates, Louisiana, Florida and Mississippi, are also seeing the greatest numbers in hospitalised patients.

Forbes reports that Covid-19 patients occupy almost half the ICU beds across the three states.

Arkansas, which has the fourth lowest vaccine uptake in the US, was left with only one space left for a Covid-19 patient in their hospitals as of Tuesday, KHBS reported.

The state’s hospitalisations have hit a new high for the second day in a row, with an additional new 2,318 cases confirmed on Thursday.

In Florida, governor Ron DeSantis continues to refuse to re-implement coronavirus mitigation efforts despite calls from the federal government, local authority leaders and teachers.

In May, the governor issued an executive order ending all local Covid-19 restrictions, mandates and emergency orders introduced to stem infections and has also banned mask mandates in state schools.

As Mr DeSantis refuses to budge, health workers are grappling with the worst outbreak in the state since the start of the pandemic. The sunshine state surpassed 20,000 daily infections this week.

"In the past week, Florida has had more Covid cases than all 30 states with the lowest case rates combined,” White House Covid-19 response coordinator Jeff Zients said on Thursday.

He added: “And Florida and Texas alone have accounted for nearly 40 per cent of new hospitalisations across the country.”

The governor has continued to urge residents to get vaccinated as soon as possible.

Amid the new wave, the success of the country’s vaccine rollout is becoming more apparent, with fully vaccinated people making up between 0.1 and 5 per cent of those hospitalised, according to The New York Times.

Breakthrough cases of infections in fully vaccinated individuals are expected as the shots are not 100 per cent effective against the disease. However, those who are jabbed are less likely to become severely ill or need hospitalisation.

Nonetheless, the Delta variant remains a persistent issue, even for states with high vaccine rates who are far from immune to severe outbreaks, due to those left unvaccinated and breakthrough infections.

Oregon and Hawaii, both states with vaccination levels higher than the national average, are seeing more people in hospital with Covid-19 than at any other point in the pandemic.

“I’m fearful that the darkest days of this pandemic may still be ahead of us,” Chris Pizzi, CEO of Providence Medical Center in Medford, Oregon, told the Associated Press.

Health officials maintain that vaccines provide the key to suppressing the Delta variant as some of the worst-hit states begin to see more people coming in for their shots.

“We’re getting more shots in the arms in the places that need them in the most. That’s what it’s going to take to end this pandemic,” Mr Zients said.

Additional reporting by the Associated Press