In July, 2021, another wave of COVID-19 began in the USA as the highly infectious delta (B.1.617.2) SARS-CoV-2 variant drove outbreaks predominantly affecting states with relatively low vaccination coverage.

Some US states have shown the feasibility of rapidly achieving high vaccination coverage.

Specifically, an average of 74·0% of adults had been fully vaccinated in Vermont, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, and Rhode Island by July 31.

By contrast, two states facing substantial delta-driven surges, Florida and Texas, had fully vaccinated only 59·5% and 55·8% of their adult residents, respectively.

Here, we estimate the deaths, hospital admissions, and infections that could have been averted if Florida and Texas had matched the average vaccination pace of the top-performing states and vaccinated 74·0% of their adult populations by the end of July.

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