COVID-19 live updates: City sees fourfold increase in pediatric hospitalizations

The shift reflects the spread of the omicron variant.

ByEmily Shapiro, Ivan Pereira, Meredith Deliso, and Mary Kekatos
Last Updated: December 27, 2021, 2:21 AM EST

As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5.3 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 816,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering.

About 61.7% of the population in the United States is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Latest headlines:

Here's how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Dec 22, 2021, 3:36 PM EST

California requiring booster for health care workers

California is requiring health care workers to get the booster shot by Feb. 1, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced.

As of Wednesday, California has a 3.3% positivity rate, the lowest in the country, Newsom said. Newsom, however, warned that cases have nearly doubled in one week.

The governor also announced that the state bought 6 million rapid tests to be distributed to school children, so each student has about one or two tests. Students can test at home before returning to classrooms after the holidays, he said.

California is also working on expanding hours at test sites to provide more access, he said.

-ABC News' Nicholas Kerr

Dec 22, 2021, 2:33 PM EST

Testing soon available at some NYC subway stops

For the first time, some New York City subway stations will offer walk-in PCR testing, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Wednesday.

A man walks past a PPE vending machine at a subway station in New York, Aug. 11, 2021.
Xinhua News Agency via Getty Images, FILE

The initiative begins Dec. 27 at the Times Square-42nd St subway station from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. and at Grand Central Terminal from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. Testing will be seven days a week but not available on New Year's Day.

Five other subway testing locations will open next week and will be announced when they're finalized, the governor said.

New York also offers vaccinations at some subway stations. Boosters are now available at Times Square-42nd St and Jackson Heights-Roosevelt Av/74 St. Grand Central Terminal will offer boosters beginning Dec. 27, according to the governor's office.

Dec 22, 2021, 1:58 PM EST

Omicron confirmed in all 50 states

Omicron cases have now been reported in all 50 states, according to an ABC News count.

The South Dakota Department of Health announced Wednesday that officials detected omicron in a young man in his 20s, making South Dakota the final state to confirm the highly transmissible variant.

The CDC on Monday said omicron was estimated to be the dominant variant in the U.S., representing more than 73% of new cases as of Dec. 18.

People wait on line to get vaccinated for COVID-19, Dec. 21, 2021, in New York.
Brittainy Newman/AP

The CDC warned this week that models, which estimate the trajectory of coronavirus in the U.S., suggest that the number of new omicron infections will likely surge in the weeks to come and could exceed previous peaks.

-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos, Darren Reynolds

Dec 22, 2021, 12:45 PM EST

Pfizer COVID treatment pill authorized by FDA

Pfizer's at-home pill treatment for COVID-19 was authorized by the FDA on Wednesday.

Pfizer's Covid-19 antiviral pills being manufactured in a laboratory in Freiburg, Germany. The Paxlovid pill has been shown to cut hospitalization or death by nearly 90 percent among newly-infected, high risk patients.
Pfizer via AFP/Getty Images

When taken early, Pfizer's pill was 89% effective at reducing the risk of severe illness and death from COVID-19, according to the company.

It's also effective against omicron, Pfizer said.

-ABC News' Cheyenne Haslett