Summer is unofficially here, with people across the country going out, traveling, and dropping masks more than in months past. But case numbers over Memorial Day weekend were almost 6 times higher than at this time last year, and COVID vaccines aren't keeping up with the new variants that just keep coming.

Guests: Dr. Celine Gounder, editor-at-large for public health at Kaiser Health News and Axios' Hope King.

Credits: Axios Today is produced by Niala Boodhoo, Erica Pandey, Sara Kehaulani Goo, Alexandra Botti, Nuria Marquez Martinez, Alex Sugiura, and Lydia McMullen-Laird. Music is composed by Evan Viola. You can reach us at [email protected]. You can text questions, comments and story ideas to Niala as a text or voice memo to 202-918-4893.

Go deeper: