The growing number of COVID cases in the U.S. indicates a major divide between the vaccinated population and those who choose to remain unvaccinated.

The 7-day moving average of new cases increased by 16% last week, according to CDC data, and roughly 93% of those cases were among counties with low vaccination rates.

“The problem is we have a tale of two pandemics,” Dr. Andre Campbell, a California-based ICU physician and trauma surgeon, said on Yahoo Finance Live recently (video above). “Where I live in San Francisco… We have 70-80% of people vaccinated. But if you go to other places in the South, the vaccination rate is 30 to 40%.”

Much of this stems from political polarization: Republican-dominated areas, some led by politicians who have added vaccine skepticism to their messaging, generally have lower vaccinated rates.

“What I’m fearing is this: These pockets where people are not vaccinated in the South, what happens in the fall when it comes back again — which it will — there are going to be outbreaks,” Campbell said. “And things like what’s going on in Missouri right now: In Missouri, there’s a horrible outbreak among unvaccinated people and they’re calling for help.”

In Missouri, which is seeing a 7-day moving average of 1,597 new cases, 73% of the cases have been linked to the Delta variant, according to the CDC. Only 39.8% of the population in the state is fully vaccinated.

“It’s almost like New York again, where they’re placing calls for doctors, respiratory therapists... so what we’re trying to do is get to the point where we could get more people vaccines because that’s the thing that will get us out of this,” Campbell said.

'If you are vaccinated, you are very protected'

There are currently three vaccines available in the U.S.: Pfizer (PFE)’s, Moderna (MRNA)’s, and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ)’s.

All three are said to be at least somewhat effective against the strains of the virus, including the newer Delta and Lambda variants.

“In Maryland, they just reported that 99% of people who got COVID were not vaccinated,” Campbell said. “The reality is the vaccines protect you now, even against the Delta variant. There’s a Lambda variant today. They just came out with another double variant and you have to remember, these viruses are built to mutate. So the more they’re out in the general population of unvaccinated people, the more it puts people at risk.”

The percentage of those vaccinated with at least one dose in Mississippi is just 37%, with Louisiana not far behind at 39%. Other states lagging include Tennessee, Alabama, Wyoming, and Idaho. Concurrently, most of those states are seeing a significant uptick in cases over the last 14 days.