Two-thirds of Americans in highly vaccinated counties are living in coronavirus hot spots as the delta variant spreads, an analysis from The Washington Post shows. 

The Post classified counties with more than 54 percent of their population fully vaccinated as highly vaccinated counties, while counties with less than 40 percent fully vaccinated were defined as low vaccination counties.

“About two-thirds of residents living in both highly and poorly vaccinated counties are now in hot spots with high and rising caseloads,” the Post analysis shows. 

The numbers are due in part to a surge of cases in Florida, West Coast cities and areas from New York to Boston.

Before August, the rise in cases was mostly among unvaccinated areas, with only 13 percent of people in highly vaccinated areas experiencing an outbreak by July 14.

The Post noted it is still better to be in a highly vaccinated area than a poorly vaccinated one during these outbreaks.

The number of new cases remains lower in highly vaccinated areas and hospitalizations are fewer in those areas.

States that have lower vaccination rates are starting to see the pressure on the health care system, with Mississippi, for example, having to open a field hospital.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended fully vaccinated individuals in areas with high transmission of the virus mask up indoors due to the rise in cases.

There have been some breakthrough cases of fully vaccinated individuals contracting the virus, but only a small number of those cases have resulted in hospitalization or death. 

The delta variant is the main culprit for the increase in cases as it has spread faster than previous strains of the virus.