COVID-19 updates: Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico leading nation in cases

Michigan has the highest infection rate, followed by Minnesota and New Mexico.

ByMorgan Winsor, Emily Shapiro, and Meredith Deliso
Last Updated: November 22, 2021, 1:33 AM EST

As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5.1 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 771,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering.

Just 69% of Americans ages 12 and up are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Latest headlines:

Here's how the news developed. All times Eastern.
Nov 16, 2021, 4:20 PM EST

FDA may issue guidance on boosters for adults as soon as this week

The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices will meet on Friday to discuss expanding booster eligibility for the Pfizer vaccine.

A government official confirmed to ABC News that the FDA may issue guidance on Pfizer and Moderna boosters for adults as soon as this week.

A registered nurse fills a syringe with the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine at a pop-up vaccination site in the Staten Island borough of New York, April 8, 2021.
Mary Altaffer/AP, FILE

Cristina Licup receives her COVID-19 booster shot where she works at the Hebrew Home at Riverdale in New York, Sept. 27, 2021.
Seth Wenig/AP

According to federal guidelines, boosters are currently available for: adults who received the Johnson & Johnson shot at least two months ago; Moderna/Pfizer recipients who are 65 and older and six months out from their second dose; and adult Moderna/Pfizer recipients who are six months out from the second dose and at higher risk because of a comorbidity, living or work environment.

But booster eligibility has already been expanded in some states this week, including New York and Arkansas.

-ABC News' Eric M. Strauss

Nov 16, 2021, 2:10 PM EST

Pfizer asks FDA for COVID-19 pill authorization

Pfizer has asked the Food and Drug Administration to authorize its COVID-19 pill, the company announced in a press release Tuesday.

Both Merck and Pfizer are working on pills that appear very effective at keeping patients out of the hospital, according to the companies. 

The Merck medication could be FDA authorized, recommended and available by the end of the year. The FDA's advisory committee is slated to discuss the Merck application on Nov. 30.

Authorization for Pfizer is not expected until early next year. 

-ABC News' Sony Salzman

Nov 16, 2021, 1:59 PM EST

21 states see at least 10% jump in daily cases

The U.S. daily case average has surged to more than 80,000 -- a 27% jump in three weeks, according to federal data.

Over the last two weeks, 21 states have seen at least a 10% uptick in daily cases: Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin.

Healthcare workers prepare their PPE before entering a negative pressure room to tend to a patient on a ventilator in the Intensive Care Unit of Baptist Health Floyd, Sept. 7, 2021 in New Albany, Indiana.
Jon Cherry/Getty Images, FILE

A patient is wheeled into Presbyterian Hospital in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Nov. 11, 2021.
Adolphe Pierre-Louis/Albuquerque Journal via Zuma Press

Last week marked the first national increase in total hospitalizations in nearly 10 weeks, according to federal data. There are now more than 48,000 patients with COVID-19 currently receiving care, up by about 3,000 patients from a week ago.

Twelve states (and Washington, D.C.) have seen an increase of 10% or more in hospital admissions over the last week: Alaska, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, South Dakota, Vermont and Wisconsin.

-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos

Nov 16, 2021, 11:36 AM EST

Times Square reopening to vaccinated revelers for New Year's Eve

Times Square is reopening this New Year's Eve after being closed last year due to the pandemic.

Revelers must bring proof of full vaccination and a photo ID.

"This has been a heroic city fighting through COVID. We are turning the corner. We've got a lot to celebrate. It's going to be a big moment in Times Square on New Years Eve," Mayor Bill de Blasio said, ABC New York station WABC reported.

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