COVID-19 updates: American Airlines to require employee vaccinations

Pediatric infection rates of COVID-19 remain at “exponentially high” levels, with nearly 207,000 positive cases among children last week, according to the weekly report from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association. 

Last week marked the fifth consecutive week of more than 200,000 reported pediatric cases, the report said. Children accounted for 26.7% of the reported COVID-19 cases last week.

More than 5.7 million children have tested positive for the virus since the onset of the pandemic. In the last five weeks, the U.S. reported more than 1.1 million pediatric cases. 

Since the first students returned to the classroom in late July, more than 1.6 million children have tested positive for the virus. 

Overall hospitalization rates among children are starting to slightly decline, despite the high number of new cases.

Even with the decline, the weekly number of cases is still 24 times higher than it was in June, when just 8,400 cases were reported over the span of a week. 

Regionally, the South continues to report the highest number of pediatric cases, accounting for about 88,000 of last week’s pediatric cases. The Northeast reported the fewest number of cases among children, but infections are still at their highest point in five months for the region. 

-ABC News’ Arielle Mitropoulos

Two dozen employees for Northwell Health, a New York-based hospital network, have been “exited” from the system after they did not meet Monday’s COVID-19 vaccination deadline set by New York Gov. Kathy Hocul. 

“A few hundred vaccinated leaders were contacted last week to take urgent action in regards to getting the shot,” according to a statement from Northwell Health. “About two dozen of them who were still not vaccinated were exited from the system.”

The hospital network is going beyond the state’s mandate for clinical staff to be vaccinated and is requiring non-clinical staff to get the vaccine as well. It plans to process the rest of its unvaccinated staff out of the system as well, according to the statement. 

“As health care professionals and members of the largest health care provider in New York State, we have a unique responsibility to protect the health of our patients and each other,” the statement continued. “We care for sick people - some critically ill – every day, and we are responsible for their safety while in our care.”

Hocul pledged Monday to sign an executive order to address any hospital shortages that occur as a result of the state vaccine mandate.

"It is not going to be a perfect situation. But again, it’s preventable," Hochul said. "It doesn’t have to be this way ... this is so unnecessary."

-ABC News’ Christopher Donato and Aaron Katersky

Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said her agency is "enthusiastically awaiting" data from Pfizer on the use of its COVID-19 vaccine in children ages 5 to 11.

On Sunday, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla told ABC News' George Stephanopoulos on "This Week" that he expects the company to submit the data to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration within the coming days.

"As soon as they get submitted to the FDA, I know the FDA is urgently planing to review this data," Walensky told ABC News' Whit Johnson in an interview Monday on "Good Morning America."

"It will go from the FDA to the CDC and we will review it with similar urgency," she added, "and I'm hoping in the order of weeks."

4:58

CDC director discusses approval of booster shots

Dr. Rochelle Walensky talks about her decision to overrule her agency's independent advisory panel by adding a recommendation for a third dose for people considered high risk due to where they work.

ABCNews.com

Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said she stands by her decision to overrule her agency's independent advisory panel by adding a recommendation for people considered high risk due to where they work to get a third dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.

"This scientific process goes from an advisory committee at the FDA, to the authorization of the FDA, to an advisory committee at the CDC and then recommendations from the CDC. It's a very transparent, scientific, public process and I listened intently," Walensky told ABC News' Whit Johnson in an interview Monday on "Good Morning America."

"I fully endorsed the recommendations from the CDC advisory committee for boosters for those over the age of 65, as well as for those with underlying conditions," she continued. "And then I also endorsed -- in full alignment with the FDA and many people at the CDC -- for boosters for people with high risk exposures, like those who work in occupational settings or in group settings or live in group settings, and I felt after listening to all of the science that that was actually the best move for public health."

On Thursday night, the panel voted unanimously to recommend Pfizer boosters for seniors and other medically vulnerable Americans, six months after their second dose. People younger than 49, however, should only get a third dose if the benefits outweigh the risks, the panel said -- a personal consideration to discuss with their doctor. Some panelists said that without further data, they weren't comfortable with automatically including younger people because of their jobs.

4:58

CDC director discusses approval of booster shots

Dr. Rochelle Walensky talks about her decision to overrule her agency's independent advisory panel by adding a recommendation for a third dose for people considered high risk due to where they work.

ABCNews.com