Coronavirus Watch: Fauci warns of 'troublesome' delta variant

COVID-19 cases and deaths have dropped to their lowest levels in almost a year, but we're not out of the woods yet.

"We cannot declare victory prematurely because there are still a substantial proportion of people who have not been vaccinated," infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci told CNN.

Fauci warned of the "troublesome" delta variant, first identified in India, which now makes up about 60% of cases in the U.K. and 6% of U.S. infections. The mRNA vaccines are "doing very well" to protect against the variant, Fauci said, but it's important to prevent it from becoming dominant in the U.S.

It's Friday, and this is the Coronavirus Watch from the USA TODAY Network. Here's more news you need to know:

• President Joe Biden on Thursday outlined plans for the U.S. to help "supercharge the global fight against this pandemic." Central to that campaign is the U.S. commitment to purchase 500 million doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine and donate them to 92 low- and middle-income nations, which Biden confirmed at the G-7 summit in England. The G-7 nations on Friday are set to commit to sharing at least 1 billion doses overall.
• Only seven African nations are expected to meet the World Health Organization’s goal to vaccinate 10% of its people by September.
• The rates of heart inflammation appear higher in young people who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 than in those who haven’t, though the side effect is extremely rare, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday.
• Chinese regulators announced Friday a second vaccine had been approved for use for children 3 to 17. China has a tentative goal of vaccinating 80% of its population by the end of the year.

Today's numbers: The U.S. has reported more than 33 million COVID-19 cases and 598,000 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Worldwide, there have been more than 174 million cases and more than 3.7 million deaths. Nearly 52% of people in the U.S. have received at least one vaccine shot, and nearly 43% are fully vaccinated, according to the CDC.

Tracking the pandemic: See the numbers in your area here. See where cases are rising here. See vaccination rates here. And here, compare vaccinations rates worldwide and see which countries are using which vaccines.

– Grace Hauck, USA TODAY breaking news reporter, @grace_hauck