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 17, 2021, 8:28 AM EST

Fauci says 3-shot vaccine should be 'standard'

Dr. Anthony Fauci said Tuesday that booster doses may become the standard for a "full" vaccination.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C, Nov. 4 2021.
Shawn Thew/EPA via Shutterstock, FILE

"I happen to believe as an immunologist and infectious disease person that a third shot boost for an mRNA [vaccine] ... should be part of the actual standard regimen, where a booster isn't a luxury. A booster isn't an add-on and a booster is part of what the original regimen should be. So that when we look back on this, we're going to see that boosters are essential for an optimal vaccine regimen," Fauci said in a pretaped interview aired at the 2021 STAT Summit.

-ABC News' Sasha Pezenik

Nov 16, 2021, 4:40 PM EST

DC to lift indoor mask mandate on Monday, masks still required in White House

Washington, D.C., will lift its indoor mask mandate on Monday.

"Instead of following a blanket mandate, residents, visitors, and workers will be advised to follow risk-based guidance from DC Health that accounts for current health metrics and a person’s vaccination status," Mayor Muriel Bowser's office said in a statement

White House Chief Medical Adviser Anthony Fauci adjusts his mask during the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions hearing on "Next Steps: The Road Ahead for the COVID-19 Response" on Capitol Hill in Washington, Nov. 4, 2021.
Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters

Private businesses can still require masks.

Masks will still be required in places including public transportation, schools, child care facilities and nursing homes.

The White House will still require masks indoors, a White House spokesman said, because D.C. has a "substantial" level of community transmission, according to the CDC.

"The White House follows CDC guidance which recommends masking in areas of high or substantial transmission," the spokesman, Kevin Munoz, told ABC News.-ABC News' Beatrice Peterson, Ben Gittleson

Nov 16, 2021, 4:33 PM EST

American Academy of Pediatrics updates guidance for testing in kids

The American Academy of Pediatrics has updated its testing guidance for children, aligning its recommendations with the CDC's for fully vaccinated individuals.

AAP now recommends that fully vaccinated people, who were in close contact with someone with COVID-19, should be tested five to seven days after the exposure. It is recommended that individuals who are not fully vaccinated be tested immediately after they learn of exposure. If they test negative, they should be tested again five to seven days after their last exposure, or immediately after symptoms develop.

The CDC already recommended that vaccinated people get tested five to seven days after exposure.

-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos, Sony Salzman

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

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