The CDC's independent advisors plan to discuss and hold a non-binding vote on the recommendations for the pediatric vaccine on Nov. 2.
CDC Director Rochelle Walensky will likely endorse those recommendations for 5 to 11-year-olds following the vote that day.
Students sit in a Normont Elementary classroom in Los Angeles on Aug. 16, 2021. A Food and Drug Administration advisory committee voted, Oct. 26, 2021, to recommend a pediatric dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine for children between the ages of 5 and 11.
Allison Zaucha/The New York Times via Redux
Vaccinations can start as soon as Walensky sends out final recommendations.
Meanwhile, the FDA's decision to authorize the pediatric vaccine is expected in the coming days.
A nurse practitioner in the PICU talks with the parent of a pediatric COVID patient at University of Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital in Iowa City, Iowa, Oct. 6, 2021.
Jessica Koscielniak/USA Today
-ABC News' Eric M. Strauss
Oct 27, 2021, 10:22 AM EDT
Nearly two-thirds of Americans have had at least 1 vaccine dose
Nearly two-thirds of all Americans -- 220 million people -- have had at least one vaccine dose, according to federal data.
A medical staff member prepares a syringe with a vial of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine at a pop up vaccine clinic at the Jewish Community Center in Staten Island, New York.
Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images, FILE
But 111 million Americans remain completely unvaccinated, including about 48 million children under the age of 12, who are not yet eligible to get the shot.
National metrics continue to fall, according to federal data. About 51,000 Americans are currently hospitalized with COVID-19, down from 104,000 patients at the end of August
Deaths are are trending down, though numbers remain quite high at over 1,100 fatalities each day.
-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos
Oct 27, 2021, 9:25 AM EDT
Weekly death totals likely to continue falling in coming weeks, CDC says
While more than 1,100 Americans are still dying from COVID-19 each day, the U.S. daily death rate has been slowly falling in recent weeks.
And now, forecast models used by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are predicting that weekly death totals will likely continue to fall in the weeks to come, though thousands of Americans are still expected to die from the virus.
The model expects 18,000 more virus-related deaths to occur in the next two weeks, with a total of around 767,800 deaths recorded in the U.S. by Nov. 20.
The model also estimates that 14 states and territories have a greater than 50% chance of having more deaths in the next two weeks compared to the past two weeks.
-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos
Oct 27, 2021, 3:41 AM EDT
Australia to lift ban on citizens leaving the country
After more than 18 months, Australia announced Wednesday that it will lift a ban on its own people from leaving the country without permission.
Starting Nov. 1, citizens and permanent residents of Australia who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 will no longer require an exemption to travel abroad. Australia has imposed some of the world's strictest border rules amid the pandemic, which Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews said has kept the country "free from widespread COVID transmission."
"The easing of these restrictions is possible thanks to our impressive national vaccination rates, and I thank all those who have done the right thing and rolled up their sleeve," Andrews said in a statement Wednesday.
A "welcome back" sign is displayed inside the empty arrivals hall at the Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport in Sydney, Australia, on Oct. 15, 2021.
David Gray/AFP via Getty Images, File
While Australian citizens and permanent residents are currently the "first priority," Andrews said, more travel restrictions -- including for some foreigners -- will be relaxed as the national vaccination rate "continues to climb." As of Wednesday, nearly 75% of people aged 16 and over in the country are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data posted by the Australian Department of Health.
"I look forward to further easing restrictions over coming weeks and months as more and more Australians become fully vaccinated," Andrews said. "Before the end of the year, we anticipate welcoming fully vaccinated skilled workers and international students."
