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.
Here's how the news is developing today. All times Eastern.
Aug 27, 2021, 6:34 PM EDT
Delta more likely to lead to hospitalization among unvaccinated than alpha: Study
A new peer-reviewed study estimates that the delta variant doubles the risk of being hospitalized if you're unvaccinated compared to the alpha variant.
A nurse works in a COVID-19 patient's room in the SSM Health St. Anthony Hospital's intensive care unit in Oklahoma City, Aug. 24, 2021.
Nick Oxford/Reuters
The study -- an analysis of more than 40,000 COVID-19 cases from the United Kingdom -- primarily included unvaccinated people, so the findings don't apply to vaccinated people with breakthrough infections.
Vaccines dramatically reduce the risk of hospitalization and death for both the alpha and delta variants.
-ABC News' Sony Salzman
Aug 27, 2021, 3:14 PM EDT
7 Southern states have ICUs over 90% full
Seven states, all in the South, have intensive care units over 90% full, according to federal data: Alabama (100%), Florida (94.98%), Georgia (94.68%), Louisiana (90.15%), Mississippi (92.07%), Oklahoma (91.68%), and Texas (93.86%).
An EMS medic from the Houston Fire Department prepares to transport a COVID-19 positive girl, age 2, to a hospital on Aug. 25, 2021, in Houston.
John Moore/Getty Images
The U.S. is continuing to experience its steepest and most significant increase in hospitalizations in seven months, according to federal data. On Wednesday alone, more than 12,800 patients were admitted to the hospital with COVID-19, marking the highest number of patients seeking care over the span of 24 hours since January.
-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos
Aug 27, 2021, 1:48 PM EDT
50% of adolescents now vaccinated
Half of all U.S. 12- to 17-year-olds have had their first vaccine shot, White House COVID-19 coordinator Jeff Zients said at Friday's briefing, which he called "critical progress."
A 13-year-old student receives a Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 vaccination in Los Angeles, Calif., Aug. 26, 2021.
Lucy Nicholson/Reuters
"The vaccination rate among adolescents is growing faster than any other age group," Zients added.
CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said a new CDC report out of Los Angeles County showed that schools following the health agency's guidelines had 3.5 times lower cases during the winter peak as compared to case rates in the community. (This study did not account for the delta variant).
"Even when communities were experiencing high levels of COVID transmission, in the LA County study, layered prevention measures in schools provided a shield of protection, helped to keep COVID out of school and reduced the spread when cases did occur," Walensky said.
She continued: "I want to strongly appeal to those districts who have not implemented prevention strategies and encourage them to do the right thing to protect the children under their care."
-ABC News' Cheyenne Haslett
Aug 27, 2021, 1:05 PM EDT
Judge rules Florida governor stop banning mask mandates in schools
A Tallahassee judge ruled Friday that Florida school boards can enact student mask mandates, going against Gov. Ron DeSantis, who in July issued an executive order that set off a public feud with school districts.
Students at Ruth K. Broad Bay Harbor K-8 Center in Bay Harbor Islands, Fla., wear face masks during anevent on Aug. 26, 2021.
Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP
Judge John C. Cooper found that a blanket ban on face masks in schools "does not meet constitutional muster" and ordered the Florida Department of Education to stop enforcing a state rule that requires districts to allow parents to opt-out of mask mandates.
Students walk out of iPrep Academy on the first day of school, Aug. 23, 2021, in Miami.
Lynne Sladky/AP
Cooper, over about two hours, picked apart the state's defense, saying the science presented during the weeklong trial did not support the state's argument against masking children.
Ten Florida school districts have adopted mask mandates for students this month. Two -- Broward and Alachua -- were sanctioned by the Florida commissioner of education, who said he would begin withholding the salaries of board members who voted to require masks.
DeSantis will "immediately appeal" the ruling, the governor's press secretary, Christina Pushaw, said in a statement. "This ruling was made with incoherent justifications, not based in science and facts," Pushaw said.
A spokesman for the Florida Department of Education said, "We are immensely disappointed that the ruling issued today by the Second Judicial Circuit discards the rule of law. This decision conflicts with basic and established rights of parents to make private health care and education decisions for children. ... We are committed to the fundamental rights of parents and will push forward on appeal to ensure that this foundation of democracy is upheld."
