US reports highest weekly COVID-19 vaccinations since July 4

A Manhattan federal judge has agreed to hear another request to halt New York City’s vaccine mandate for public school employees.

A group of 10 teachers, educators and administrators filed an emergency motion Monday for a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction to prevent the city from further enforcing the mandate.

“This policy is reckless, senseless, and not only violates the fundamental rights of thousands of New Yorkers but will also put over 1 million New York City public school children at risk of imminent harm,” the petition said.

The judge scheduled a hearing for Tuesday morning to consider the request and preliminary injunction.

Earlier Monday, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said 95% of all full-time Department of Education employees are vaccinated, including 96% of all teachers and 99% of all principals.

-ABC News' Aaron Katersky

Last week, the U.S. reported more than 173,000 child COVID-19 cases, marking the first week with fewer than 200,000 new cases reported since mid-August, according to a newly released weekly report from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association.

Even with the decline, last week children still accounted for 26.7% of reported weekly cases. (Children make up 22.2% of the population.)

The South is reporting the highest number of pediatric cases followed closely by the Midwest.

The number of children hospitalized with COVID-19 is also declining. About 1,700 children are currently hospitalized across the country, according to AAP and CHA.

Severe illness due to COVID-19 remains "uncommon" among kids, the two organizations wrote in the report. However, AAP and CHA warned that there is an urgent need to collect more data on the long-term consequences of the pandemic on children, "including ways the virus may harm the long-term physical health of infected children, as well as its emotional and mental health effects."

-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos

Northwell Health, New York state’s largest private hospital system, said its workforce is now 100% vaccinated.

While 1,400 employees have been terminated, most chose to be vaccinated, a hospital spokesman said Monday. Northwell currently has over 76,000 employees.

"Northwell regrets losing any employee under such circumstances, but as health care professionals and members of the largest health care provider in the state, we understand our unique responsibility to protect the health of our patients and each other," the hospital said in a statement.

-ABC News' Chris Donato

The U.S. daily death average stands at about 1,500, which is nearly eight-times higher than in mid-July, according to federal data.

However hospitalizations are dropping, with admissions down by about 15% in the last week, according to federal data.

Alaska currently has the nation's highest case rate, followed by West Virginia, Wyoming, North Dakota, Montana and Idaho.

About 116.9 million Americans -- including 68.6 million over the age of 12 -- remain completely unvaccinated.

-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos