Coronavirus Watch: ICUs near capacity in Texas, parts of Florida

Hospitals in Texas and parts of Florida are being overwhelmed by the amount of new COVID-19 patients. 

Texas has only 329 staffed ICU beds left for a population of about 30 million people – the fewest ICU beds the state has had available at any point during the pandemic. Central Texas hospitals were down to only two staffed ICU beds and were seeing a tripling of pediatric patients, local health officials said.

Meanwhile, in Florida, all three hospital systems in Brevard County are over capacity and are continuing to deal with a surge in patients, local officials said.

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

• Pregnant people should get vaccinated as soon as possible, the CDC said Wednesday, warning of the possibility of "severe outcomes'' for those who don't and pointing out there's no evidence of increased chance of miscarriage for those who get immunized.
• Booster shots? A CDC advisory panel will meet Friday to discuss the issue. The U.S. government has not approved booster shots against the virus but is evaluating the possible use of boosters to protect roughly 10 million immunocompromised Americans.
• The U.S. added more new cases in the first nine days of August than in all of May and more than double the number of cases reported in all of June, a USA TODAY analysis of Johns Hopkins University data shows.
• More mask mandates: Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshearissued a new mask mandate Tuesday for the state's schools, less than a day before many districts will welcome kids back to class. And Oregon Gov. Kate Brown said she is issuing two new pandemic mandates – a vaccination requirement for state employees and statewide indoor mask requirements.

Today's numbers: The U.S. has reported more than 36 million COVID-19 cases and 618,200 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Worldwide, there have been more than 204.3 million cases and more than 4.3 million deaths. About 59% of people in the U.S. and 71% of U.S. adults have received at least one vaccine shot, and about 50% 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