COVID updates: Hawaii is only state to not announce plans to lift mask mandates

Every other state has lifted or announced plans to lift mandates.

ByEmily Shapiro, Morgan Winsor, Meredith Deliso, Ivan Pereira, and Mary Kekatos
Last Updated: February 21, 2022, 1:28 AM EST

As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5.8 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 934,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering.

About 64.6% 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.
Feb 15, 2022, 3:03 PM EST

Kids' hospitalization rate 4x higher during omicron surge than delta surge: Study 

The rate of hospitalizations for children and teenagers was four times higher during the omicron surge than the delta surge, according to a CDC report released Tuesday. 

A child is treated for the coronavirus disease at the Children's Hospital of Georgia in Augusta, Ga., Jan. 15, 2022.
Hannah Beier/Reuters, FILE

Children under 5 -- who are ineligible for vaccination -- showed the largest hospitalization rate increase, the report found. Hospitalization rates among kids under 5 were about five times higher during the peak week of omicron than during delta's peak. 

-ABC News' Dr. Alexis E. Carrington and Dr. Meaghan C. Costello

Feb 15, 2022, 2:08 PM EST

Getting vaccinated while pregnant may help prevent hospitalization in babies under 6 months: Study 

Getting the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine series during pregnancy may help prevent COVID-19 hospitalizations for babies under 6 months old, according to a CDC report. 

Prior studies have shown that mothers could possibly pass on antibodies during pregnancy, but this is the first study showing an association between getting vaccinated and protecting the baby. 

The study looked at babies under 6 months who were admitted to the hospital for COVID-19 and compared them to babies under 6 months who were admitted to the hospital for another reason.  

The study found babies with mothers who were vaccinated were 61% less likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19. Of the babies hospitalized with COVID, 84% of their mothers weren’t vaccinated, the study found.

However, this study was conducted when delta was the predominant variant, so more babies need to be studied to see if data changed with omicron. This study also did not look at how effective boosters are in pregnancy. 

-ABC News' Dr. Alexis E. Carrington and Dr. Meaghan C. Costello

Feb 15, 2022, 1:12 PM EST

US hospitalizations, cases keep dropping

The number of COVID-19-positive patients in U.S. hospitals is declining with the same momentum that it surged in early winter. There are now 78,000 Americans with COVID-19 in hospitals; that number was twice as high -- 160,000 patients -- during the nation's peak on Jan. 20, according to federal data.

Dr. Cristian Laguillo checks the breathing of Jeanie Callahan, who has Covid-19, at the Copper Queen Community Hospital in Bisbee, Ariz., Feb. 4, 2022.
Paul Ratje/The New York Times via Redux Pictures

The U.S. daily case rate has dropped to 161,000 -- down by 80% since last month's peak, according to federal data.

However, experts continue to caution that the U.S. is not out of the woods. Case levels remain much higher than the nation's previous surges, with the U.S. reporting millions of new cases every week and 98% of U.S. counties reporting high transmission. Also, experts point out that many Americans taking at-home tests are not submitting their results, so case totals may be higher than reported.

-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos

Feb 15, 2022, 12:45 PM EST

Omicron and its sublineages accounting for 100% of new cases

The omicron variant and its sublineages are estimated to account for 100% of new infections, according to the CDC.

So far, data suggests there are no major differences between the omicron subvariants, but scientists are monitoring them closely.

The original omicron variant is estimated to account for 22.9% of new COVID-19 cases in the U.S. 

A closely related sublineage, BA.1.1, has been the dominant strain since early January and is now estimated to account for 73.2% of new COVID-19 cases.

A second sublineage, BA.2, accounts for an estimated 3.9% of new COVID-19 cases in the U.S., according to the CDC.

-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos

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