COVID-19 updates: American Airlines to require employee vaccinations

An Arizona judge ruled Monday that the state's ban on mask mandates in schools is unconstitutional.

Judge Katherine Cooper sided with the Arizona School Boards Association, which contended that the Arizona State Legislature's law to ban school districts from issuing a mask mandate violates the state constitution's title requirement and single subject rule.

The association argued that the legislature included policy regarding 30 subjects into one bill.

"The single subject rule precludes legislators from combining unrelated provisions into one bill to garner votes for disfavored measures. Together, these requirements promote transparency and the public’s access to information about legislative action," the judge wrote in her decision.

The law was slated to go into effect on Sept. 29.

The state has until Nov. 1 to file an objection or response to the ruling.

Novant Health announced Monday that it terminated around 175 staff members at its medical centers who failed to comply with its vaccine mandate.

Novant's system includes 15 hospitals, 800 clinics and hundreds of outpatient facilities throughout North Carolina.

Last week, 375 members were unvaccinated -- despite a Sept. 15 deadline for the mandate -- and suspended, the hospital said.

Since then, 200 members have received at least one shot and 99% of Novant's 35,000 team members are compliant, according to the hospital's administrators.

Employees who received an mRNA vaccine have until Oct. 15 to get their second dose, Novant said in a statement.

-ABC News' Brian Hartman

A pharmacy owner in Puerto Rico has pleaded guilty to federal charges after 24 children between the ages of 7 to 11 were given a full dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. 

The pharmacy, located 10 miles northeast of Ponce, administered the vaccines between May 28 and June 22, the Justice Department announced Monday. 

Owner and president of Farmacia Gabriela, Lizz Ann Banchs, has pleaded guilty to participating in a felony conspiracy to convert government property and to commit health care fraud. 

Banchs faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine of $250,000, as well as three years of supervised release. 

-ABC News’ Joshua Hoyos

Children in Chile ages 6 to 11 began getting the first dose of the the COVID-19 vaccine on Monday, according to the country’s health ministry. 

On Sept. 6, Chile’s Public Health Institute recommended that children 6 and older receive China’s Sinovac vaccine.

Schools are required to provide parents and guardians with data on the vaccine being used. Parents then must provide written consent for their child to receive the shot. 

In the country, 87% of teens ages 16 to 17 have been vaccinated while 81% of 14- to 15-year-olds have been vaccinated. Fifty-seven percent of 12- to 13-year-olds have received the vaccine.

-ABC News’ Christine Theodorou