New U.S. infections are up 316% from last Labor Day, other developments

New infections are up 316% from last Labor Day; physicians face life-or-death decisions on ICU beds: Live COVID-19 updates Daily coronavirus infections are more than four times what the U.S. saw last Labor Day – and daily deaths are almost twice as high. Latest COVID news. Jorge L. Ortiz, Grace Hauck and John Bacon USA TODAY

Daily coronavirus infections are more than four times what the U.S. was seeing on Labor Day last year, or a 316% increase, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. And daily deaths are almost twice as high.

Blame the highly contagious delta variant and a swath of Americans refusing easily accessible vaccines that most of the developing world is furiously scrambling to obtain. 

Hospitalizations are up 158% from a year ago, U.S. Health and Human Services data shows. The result: Some U.S. hospitals are getting so crowded with COVID-19 patients that physicians may soon be compelled to make life-or-death decisions on who gets an ICU bed.

"We are perilously close," Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, told CNN. "You're going to have to make some very tough choices." ...

Today's numbers: The U.S. has recorded more than 39.9 million confirmed COVID-19 cases and more than 648,400 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data. Global totals: More than 220.6 million cases and 4.56 million deaths. More than 175,9 million Americans – 53% of the population – have been fully vaccinated, according to the CDC.