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COVID-19 live updates: Judge rules governor stop banning mask mandates in schools

Ten Florida school districts have adopted mask mandates for students this month.

Last Updated: August 28, 2021, 7:23 PM EDT

The United States is facing a COVID-19 surge this summer as the more contagious delta variant spreads.

More than 634,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 while over 4.4 million people have died from the disease worldwide, according to real-time data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.

Just 60.8% of Americans ages 12 and up are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Latest headlines:

Here's how the news is developing today. All times Eastern.
Aug 23, 2021, 2:07 PM EDT

More than 180,000 new cases reported among kids last week

More than 180,000 new COVID-19 cases were reported among kids last week, reaching levels of the previous winter surge of 2020-2021, according to a new report from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association.

Students attend classes during the first day of school at Barbara Goleman Senior High School in Miami Lakes, Fla., Aug. 23, 2021.
Cristobal Herrera-Ulashkevich/EPA via Shutterstock

More than 4.59 million children have tested positive for COVID-19 since the onset of the pandemic. Last week, children represented 22.4% of all reported cases.

Severe illness due to COVID-19 remains "uncommon" among children, the two organizations wrote in the report. In nearly two dozen states, 0.2%-1.9% of all child COVID-19 cases resulted in hospitalization.

AAP and CHA, however, warned that there is an urgent need to collect more data on the long-term consequences of the pandemic on children, "including ways the virus may harm the long-term physical health of infected children, as well as its emotional and mental health effects."

-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos

Aug 23, 2021, 11:12 AM EDT

Pentagon preparing to make Pfizer vaccine mandatory

The Pentagon will move forward with making the Pfizer vaccine mandatory now that it has been fully approved by the FDA, Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said Monday.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced on Aug. 9 that he would seek authorization to mandate the vaccine for the military unless the FDA approved it before Sept. 15. 

“Now that the Pfizer vaccine has been approved, the department is prepared to issue updated guidance, requiring all service members to be vaccinated," Kirby said at a briefing. "A timeline for vaccination completion will be provided in the coming days."

-ABC News' Luis Martinez

Aug 23, 2021, 10:50 AM EDT

NYC school staff must get vaccine

All of New York City’s nearly 150,000 public school employees must receive at least one vaccine dose by Sept. 27, Mayor Bill de Blasio will announce Monday. The new vaccination policy will not allow weekly testing as an option.

A classroom is empty on Nov. 19, 2020 at Yung Wing School P.S. 124 in New York City.
Michael Loccisano/Getty Images

At least 63% of New York City's Department of Education employees are already vaccinated, Schools Chancellor Meisha Porter said.

The previous requirement allowed for weekly testing of the unvaccinated, with unpaid suspensions for workers who didn't comply.

New York City's school year starts on Sept. 13.

-ABC News' Aaron Katersky

Aug 23, 2021, 7:48 AM EDT

Rev. Jesse Jackson 'responding' to COVID treatment

Civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson, who is in the hospital with COVID-19, is responding positively to treatment, his son told ABC Chicago station WLS.

Reverend Jesse Jackson spoke to the media outside of the African American History Museum, Aug. 4, 2021.
Zach Brien/AP, FILE

The 79-year-old, who has Parkinson’s disease, was vaccinated for COVID-19 in January, WLS reported.

His wife, Jacqueline, 77, is also in the hospital with COVID-19 and is resting comfortably, their son, Jonathan Jackson, said.

“She is having some oxygen but is able to function and breathe on her own without a respirator,” he told WLS.

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