Here's how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Feb 11, 2022, 5:25 PM EST
Supreme Court rejects request to block NYC teacher vaccine mandate
The U.S. Supreme Court denied a request for emergency intervention by a small group of teachers who challenged New York City’s vaccination mandate for public school employees.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor denied the application for an emergency injunction without any comment.
Without the injunction, the public school employees said they’re facing termination Monday unless they waive their right to continue this litigation or violate their sincere religious beliefs.
-ABC News' Aaron Katersky and Devin Dwyer
Feb 11, 2022, 3:10 PM EST
Pfizer delays request for vaccine for kids under 5
Pfizer said it has postponed its application to the FDA to expand the use of its COVID-19 vaccine for kids under 5.
In this Nov. 12, 2021, file photo, a first grade student receives a COVID-19 vaccine at Arturo Velasquez Institute in Chicago.
Scott Olson/Getty Images, FILE
Pfizer instead will continue with its study on the three-dose vaccine and seek authorization when that data is available.
"We believe additional information regarding the ongoing evaluation of a third dose should be considered as part of our decision-making for potential authorization," Pfizer said.
Dr. Peter Marks, the FDA’s vaccine chief, told reporters Friday, “We realized now, in data that came in very rapidly because of the large number of cases of omicron, that at this time, it makes sense for us to wait until we have the data from the evaluation of a third dose before taking action."
Marks acknowledged that the change was “late breaking” -- the FDA’s committee of independent advisers was scheduled to review and vote on authorizing the vaccine next week -- but said the job of the FDA was to “adjust” to new data amid an unpredictable virus.
“The data that we saw made us realize that we needed to see data from a third dose as in the ongoing trial in order to make the term determination that we could proceed with doing an authorization,” Marks said.
Pfizer has predicted it will be able to submit data on the third dose in early April.
-ABC News' Eric M. Strauss, Cheyenne Haslett
Feb 11, 2022, 3:00 PM EST
FDA authorizes new monoclonal treatment that works against omicron
The FDA has authorized a new monoclonal antibody treatment from Eli Lilly called bebtelovimab, an injection which has shown to hold up against omicron and the BA.2 subvariant.
As with other monoclonal therapies, this is for COVID-19 patients early on in their infection who are at high risk for getting severely ill, to help keep them from getting sicker and help keep them out of the hospital.
The Biden administration said it has purchased 600,000 doses for roughly $720 million in anticipation of bebtelovimab getting an emergency use authorization from the FDA.
The plan is to get about 300,000 doses this month and another 300,000 in March. The contract also includes a future option for 500,000 more doses if necessary.
-ABC News' Sasha Pezenik
Feb 11, 2022, 12:09 PM EST
US cases at lowest point since Christmas
The daily case average in the U.S. has dropped to its lowest point since Christmas, with the nation now reporting an average of 215,000 new cases each day -- a 71% drop in the last three weeks, according to federal data.
Restaurants re-open as people still wear their masks, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, in Los Angeles, Feb. 8, 2022.
David Swanson/Reuters
However, even with the declines, nearly 99% of U.S. counties are reporting high transmission. Also, many Americans are taking at-home tests and not submitting their results, so case totals may be higher than reported.
U.S. hospitalization rates are also declining.
On average, about 12,100 Americans are being admitted to the hospital with COVID-19 each day, down by about 25% in the last week, according to federal data.
The national average continues to plateau around 2,300 new COVID-19-related deaths per day.
