COVID-19 updates: Pfizer vaccine highly effective in children 5-11

About 64.3 million Americans ages 12 and older are completely unvaccinated.

ByJulia Jacobo, Ivan Pereira, Emily Shapiro, and Meredith Deliso
Last Updated: October 25, 2021, 2:03 AM EDT

More than 731,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 while over 4.9 million people have died from the disease worldwide, according to real-time data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.

Just 66.9% of Americans ages 12 and up are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Latest headlines:

Here's how the news developed. All times Eastern.
Oct 19, 2021, 2:56 PM EDT

Secretary Mayorkas tests positive for COVID-19

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has tested positive for COVID-19, a DHS spokeswoman confirmed to ABC News. 

Mayorkas, who is fully vaccinated, "is experiencing only mild congestion," a statement said.

Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas looks on during a conference at SRE Building, Oct. 8, 2021, in Mexico City, Mexico.
Hector Vivas/Getty Images

Mayorkas will work from home, the statement said. Contact tracing is underway.

There were no major White House officials deemed to be close contacts. "No White House principal has been determined to be a close contact of Secretary Mayorkas, given that the most recent contact was at the outdoor National Peace Officers’ Memorial Service, which took place outside of the 48-hour close contact window,” the White House said in a statement.

-ABC News' Luke Barr

Oct 19, 2021, 1:00 PM EDT

Pfizer vaccine 93% effective against hospitalizations for 12-18 age group

A new CDC study found that the Pfizer vaccine was 93% effective against hospitalizations for adolescents ages 12 to 18 from July to September.

The researchers also found that nearly all (97%) of adolescents ages 12 to 18 who were hospitalized with COVID-19 were unvaccinated. 

-ABC News' Sony Salzman

Oct 19, 2021, 12:30 PM EDT

10 states see rise in hospital admissions

Ten states -- all of which have colder temperatures -- have seen upticks in hospital admissions in recent weeks, according to federal data: Alaska, Colorado, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Vermont and Wyoming.

However, nationwide, just under 58,000 Americans remain hospitalized, a major drop from 104,000 patients at the end of the summer, according to federal data.

An ambulance is seen outside the Erie County Medical Center (ECMC) Hospital in Buffalo, New York, Sept. 28, 2021.
Lindsay Dedario/Reuters, FILE

Death rates remain high, with more than 1,000 Americans dying each day, according to federal data.

Over the last month, the U.S. has reported approximately 45,000 COVID-19 deaths, including nearly 7,600 deaths in the last week.

-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos

Oct 19, 2021, 11:48 AM EDT

UK records highest daily death toll since March

The United Kingdom recorded 233 COVID-19 deaths in the last 24 hours, the highest total since March 5, according to government data.

Tributes to lives lost at the Covid-19 Memorial Wall in London, Oct. 12, 2021.
Andy Rain/EPA via Shutterstock

In a statement confirmed by ABC News, issued before the new figures were published, the prime minister’s office said it was keeping a "very close eye" on the numbers and urged people to get their booster shots.

"We have seen case rates rising, we've started to see some indications that hospitalisations and death rates are increasing also," a spokesman for the prime minister said. "It's important that the public understand that getting your booster jab is just as important as getting your first and second dose." 

-ABC News' Guy Davies

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