COVID-19 updates: 70% of American adults fully vaccinated

An independent CDC advisory panel will convene at 11 a.m. Tuesday to debate and hold a nonbinding vote on whether to recommend the Pfizer vaccine for the roughly 28 million kids ages 5 to 11 in the U.S. 

The CDC panel is expected to vote around 4:15 p.m.

If the panel decides to move ahead, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky must sign off on those specific recommendations, which would likely happen Tuesday evening.

No pediatric vaccinations will start until Walensky gives the green light. If that happens Tuesday evening, shots could start going into younger children's arms beginning Wednesday.

The White House has purchased 65 million Pfizer pediatric vaccine doses -- more than enough to fully vaccine all American children in this age group. 

-ABC News' Sasha Pezenik

After six weeks of steady declines, the nationwide case rate appears to be plateauing, according to federal data. In recent days, the daily case average in the U.S. ticked up slightly to 69,000 cases per day, which is a 37% drop in the last month, but higher than last week.

In recent weeks cases have been creeping up in states including Alaska, Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Nebraska, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Utah, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin, according to federal data.

Alaska currently has the country's highest infection rate. Puerto Rico, Florida and California have the lowest.

-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos

Several million vaccines for kids ages 5 to 11 were en route Monday to large pharmacies, medical centers and other select locations, with shots expected to begin as early as Wednesday if the CDC signs off on them this week.

However, the program for pediatric vaccinations probably won’t be “fully up and running” until the week of Nov. 8, Jeff Zients, the White House coordinator on COVID-19, said Monday. 

"We are planning on some vaccinations towards the end of this week, but the program for kids ages 5 through 11 [will] really [be] hitting full strength the week of Nov. 8,” he said.

“Since FDA’s authorization last Friday, there hasn't been a moment our teams have not been picking, packing and shipping vaccines,” Zients said. “They've been working 24/7 and will continue to do so."

An initial shipment of 15 million doses for kids ages 5 to 11 began moving from Pfizer’s freezers this weekend following last week's authorization by the FDA. Packed in dry ice, the doses are labeled for tracking before shipping out. The doses are a third the size of adult shots and given orange caps to prevent potential mix ups.

When pressed by ABC News on why shots won’t be more widely available earlier, administration officials said shipments couldn’t start until FDA authorization and that moving 15 million doses take time.

-ABC News' Anne Flaherty

CDC director Rochelle Walensky said the U.S. "hit two important milestones" Monday with 70% of adults now fully vaccinated and 80% of adults who have had at least their first shot.

In the last two days, 2 million Americans received a booster shot, and now a total of 20 million Americans have had a booster, Walensky said at Monday's White House briefing.

Walensky added that pediatric vaccines are "safe and highly effective."

"Parents should feel comforted not just that their children will be protected, but that this vaccine has gone through the necessary and rigorous evaluation that ensures the vaccine is safe and highly effective," she said.

-ABC News' Anne Flaherty