but it was an absolute beast of a job getting to that point. >> and joining me now is dasha burns attheast pennsylvania. how are the camps navigating this reopening now? now they've reached the point of having enough staffing, but what other changes do you expect campers will be seeing? >> reporter: andrea, camps have had to get extremely creative. in a typical year about 25,000 camp workers come from abroad on those j-1 visas. this year that number is down to just a few thousands. places like camp ihc have launched massive recruitment campaigns. others have had to train a limited number of camp counselors to do multiple jobs, to training them to be lifeguards, boating instructors. other camps have had to simply cut back on programming or make that summer sleep-away camp a little shorter. others, unfortunately, have had to close completely. thankfully camp ihc will be opening and welcoming kids this weekend, but while a lot of us are feeling like we're starting to get back to normal, camp director lauren said kids are going to have a pretty normal camp experience this time around, bu

here's dasha burns. >> reporter: for camp director lauren, preparing the camp is difficult. >> people rely on international staffers who judgments on j-1 visas camp ihc typically employs over 200 camper from overseas, but this year it forced a number of consulates and embassies to stop granting visas leaving camps to fill vital positions how big of a portion are from overseas >> typically anywhere from 30 to 40% will be international. >> reporter: how that does that compare to this year >> probably cut it in half >> reporter: the visa issue has contributed to a national camp crisis. >> it's caused some camps to close completely other camps are cutting sessions, numbers. >> reporter: especially in demand lifeguards. and the number of college students applying is way down, too. >> after a year of confinement, they want to spread their wings and, you know, coming to camp and giving up some of that really wasn't that attractive for some. >> reporter: some international camp workers are finding their way into the u.s. by way of mexico that's where irish native sean got his visa. >> we're t

dasha burns has exclusive access to this area. she's out at a construction site.g is a pretty literal representation of the race to bridge the gaps between two opposing administrations, and in this case the gap was 1,700 feet where a levee once existed. the ground is flat here. it's here no more. the u.s. army corps of engineers had to cut this hole in the levee and others in the system here in order to build the wall. when biden signed that executive order to stop construction, it ground to a screeching halt. these holes were left here. now the army corps is tacked with rebuilding not the wall itself but the levees. they are doing that very, very quickly, because as you said, we are in hurricane season. this construction site already looks very different today than it did when we saw it yesterday. this flat section will look a whole lot more like this concrete section here, which is really the core of the protective levee system. when you talk about walls and you are talking about construction and you are talking about the border, people can get pretty confused a

joining me from colorado is nbc reporter dasha burns and dr. anne rimoin.ncentrated. what's the situation there? >> reporter: yes, geoff, hospitals here are back in the thick of the battle against covid-19, as the delta variant has ripped through this community. hospitals are at nearly capacity. and i'll tell you, it feels a little bit like a flash back to fall of 2020. standing here at another hospital that is yet again almost full. nurses putting covid patients on ventilators. but there is a big difference between now and fall of 2020 and that is the vaccine, but mesa county is lagging significantly behind the rest of the state when it comes to vaccination rates and experts point to that as the biggest factor and the biggest concern. geoff, this is a rural, more conservative county where folks really pride themselves on lack of government interference. on personal choice. but in this case, that is translating to the low vaccination rates that are leading to the rise in hospitalizations here. and putting health care workers in a really tough spot. i want y

joining me from grand junction, colorado, mesa county, west of the rockies is dasha burns. the story. >> reporter: yeah, chuck, it feels like a tragic case of deja vu standing in front of a hospital, mesa county, 95% right now, they're seeing numbers comparable to november when they had their peak but things are very different than they were back then because there is a vaccine that can prevent all of this but mesa county is lagging significantly behind the rest of the state when it comes to vaccination rates. and experts here tell me that is the biggest factor and biggest concern. chuck, look, this is a conservative, more rural county, this is congresswoman lauren boebert's district where folks pride themselves on personal choice. on lack of government intervention. and in this case, that has translated to vaccine hesitancy. and misinformation that has resulted in a pretty tough information behind the doors of this hospital and others in the area. speaking to the president of community hospital here, he tells me the way to combat this is not going to be from the top-down ap

dasha burns is speaking with health officials.of colorado's cases. what are you hearing from people, what is going on there? >> reporter: i got to tell you, it does feel like deja vu standing here at another hospital that is again almost full, covid-19 helping through this community, the delta variant impacting that unvaccinated population. and that is the thing, this is very different than what we saw in november because there is a vaccine available and the health experts that i've been speaking to here point to that as the biggest factor and the biggest concern here. hey a county is lagging significantly behind the rest of the state and the rest of the country when it comes to vaccinations. and they are battling misinformation and vaccine hesitancy. and this is a county that is more rural and conservative. and where a lot of folks pride themselves on personal choice, on lack of government intervention. but what that translates to is that vaccine hesitancy. and what it means for the health care workers in this building behind me

. >> let's bring in dasha burns in colorado where hospitals are close to full capacity. vaccinated and by choosing not to get vaccinated, you're basically choosing to get sick. >> reporter: stephanie, vaccination really at the heart of things here. colorado has the second most delta variant cases in the u.s. the majority of them concentrated in mesa county, the first county to see the delta variant in the state and it is a county that lags significantly behind the rest of the state when it comes to vaccination. about 40% vaccinated compared to 50% statewide and look, this is a beautiful county. you can see the mountains behind me, a more rural area, freshman congresswoman lauren bobert's district in a region that prides itself on personal choice and lack of government intervention and in this case though what that translates to is hospitals at this county at about 96% capacity and feels like deja vu standing outside of a hospital talking about icu capacity and lack of beds. harkens back to november and hospitals are seeing rates comparable. i asked the chief nurse at the

so dasha, thinking of all the risks that come with sleep away camp, broken bones, sun burn, poison ivyer a concern until now. so how are the camps adjusting? >> jeff, you know, for a lot of us it is starting to feel like things are getting back to normal. but i'll tell you, for the folks tasked with creating that experience of normalcy for us again, they are still facing enormous challenges. typically, 25,000 camp workers a year come from abroad on j-1 visas, international workers critical to the camp p experience, places like camp ihc here. this year though, the numbers are down to just a few thousand. and it's putting camps across the country in a tough spot. watch. >> reporter: for camp director, preparing to open her sleep away camp in rural pennsylvania is always a challenge. but this year it's been exceptionally difficult. >> all over our industry, people are struggling for staff. >> camps across the country rely on international staffers who come on j-1 visas. camp ihc typically employs 200 counsellors from overseas. but this year the vud travel ban forced a number of embassies