'I wouldn't want my worst enemy to go through this,' wife says as unvaccinated husband battles COVID-19 in ICU

New cases of the coronavirus are rising in every state across the nation by at least 10% over the past week. But there are glimmers of hope. Weekly vaccination rates are up 26% from just three weeks ago and 49.5% of the population is fully vaccinated, still far short of where the White House hope to be by now. And in the south, in places like Alabama and Arkansas states with poor vaccination progress now, seeing the average number of shots double in the last three weeks. But the south still has a long way to go. As bad as things are right now in the south are about to get worse if for for lots of unvaccinated individuals. New cases in Florida have jumped by more than 50% in the past week. In neighboring Georgia, the new case rate has tripled in the past two weeks. And in Louisiana where they had the most cases per capita last week, daily vaccination rates jumped 111% from three weeks ago. The delta variant is a game changer and at this point it's not whether we vaccinate or mask, we have to do both. An internal document from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the delta variant, which is fueling much of the rise across the country right now produces similar viral loads in both vaccinated and unvaccinated people who are infected vaccinated people may also spread the variant at the same rate as unvaccinated people. But it's critical to note that breakthrough infections among vaccinated people are rare. And as the CDC now pushes for vaccinated americans to wear masks indoors in many places across the country, President biden says more restrictions could be coming back to more lines. Okay, In all probability, and health experts agree unless many more americans get vaccinated things could get much worse. What we can say is this virus is doing exactly what we predicted it will do. And if we can't get extremely high rates of vaccination, and those rates now need to be higher than they were with the original strength because of the increased infectivity, we're going to see more and more variance, some of which will be worse.

With the rise of COVID-19 cases due to the more contagious delta variant, evidence continues to mount that vaccination is the key to prevent serious coronavirus illness.For one Mississippi couple who caught COVID-19, their outcomes provide a growing contrast. The wife, who is vaccinated, recovered after 10 days. But her unvaccinated husband has been in the hospital for 22 days and counting."He's just trying so hard to get better and get home," Alicia Ball said about her husband, William, whose currently in an intensive care unit battling COVID-19. "We have a lot of people praying for us."He means so much to our family. He's the rock of our family."At times holding back tears, she told CNN on Thursday that she is "emotionally and mentally and physically exhausted."Ball spoke to CNN from a hospital in Jackson, Mississippi, with her husband lying beside her in bed with an oxygen mask on. He is currently not on a ventilator."It's real. It's devastating. ... It's been really hard," she said. "I wouldn't want my worst enemy to go through this."Ball added she and her husband were vaccine-hesitant, but she eventually got the vaccine under her doctor's care after fears regarding her asthma condition. She said she fell ill for 10 days when she contracted COVID-19 and had to visit an emergency room."But I didn't get put in here for 22 days and counting," she said.Ball said her vaccine skepticism stemmed from not knowing just how badly the virus can affect her."We just didn't know the severity of the disease ... especially, this delta variant. ... It just hadn't hit that close to home, yet," she said.Mississippi has one of the nation's lowest vaccination rates, with 34.4% of the total population fully vaccinated, state data shows. The state is also designated as an area with high transmission of COVID-19, according to federal health data. Over the past week, Mississippi saw 336 cases per 100,000 people, which is one of the highest rates in the U.S.The delta variant of COVID-19 has been spreading throughout the country, compounding concerns among health officials. Safety restrictions and mask guidances are making a return as cases rose by at least 10% in nearly every U.S. state in the last week, according to Johns Hopkins University data.The variant spreads quicker and more easily than the first coronavirus strain and can infect fully vaccinated people whose symptoms are usually milder.Ball hopes sharing her COVID-19 experience will encourage her loved ones and others to get vaccinated."God, I hope so. I hope it's helped our family, our church, our friends, anybody that sees this broadcast. I hope it helps. That's why I'm doing it," she said.

With the rise of COVID-19 cases due to the delta variant, evidence continues to mount that vaccination is the key to prevent serious coronavirus illness.

For one Mississippi couple who caught COVID-19, their outcomes provide a growing contrast. The wife, who is vaccinated, recovered after 10 days. But her unvaccinated husband has been in the hospital for 22 days and counting.

"He's just trying so hard to get better and get home," Alicia Ball said about her husband, William, whose currently in an intensive care unit battling COVID-19. "We have a lot of people praying for us.

"He means so much to our family. He's the rock of our family."

At times holding back tears, she told on Thursday that she is "emotionally and mentally and physically exhausted."

Ball spoke to CNN from a hospital in Jackson, Mississippi, with her husband lying beside her in bed with an oxygen mask on. He is currently not on a ventilator.

"It's real. It's devastating. ... It's been really hard," she said. "I wouldn't want my worst enemy to go through this."

Ball added she and her husband were vaccine-hesitant, but she eventually got the vaccine under her doctor's care after fears regarding her asthma condition. She said she fell ill for 10 days when she contracted COVID-19 and had to visit an emergency room.

"But I didn't get put in here for 22 days and counting," she said.

Ball said her vaccine skepticism stemmed from not knowing just how badly the virus can affect her.

"We just didn't know the severity of the disease ... especially, this delta variant. ... It just hadn't hit that close to home, yet," she said.

Mississippi has one of the nation's lowest vaccination rates, with 34.4% of the total population fully vaccinated, state .

The state is also designated as an area with high transmission of COVID-19, according to . Over the past week, Mississippi saw 336 cases per 100,000 people, which is one of the highest rates in the U.S.

The delta variant of COVID-19 has been spreading throughout the country, compounding concerns among health officials. Safety restrictions and are making a return as cases rose by at least 10% in nearly every U.S. state in the last week, according to Johns Hopkins University data.

The variant spreads quicker and more easily than the first coronavirus strain and can infect fully vaccinated people whose symptoms are usually milder.

Ball hopes sharing her COVID-19 experience will encourage her loved ones and others to get vaccinated.

"God, I hope so. I hope it's helped our family, our church, our friends, anybody that sees this broadcast. I hope it helps. That's why I'm doing it," she said.

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