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 21, 2021, 8:53 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 20, 2021, 10:00 PM EDT

US deaths estimated to continue to fall in weeks ahead, though thousands more lost

Forecast models used by the CDC are predicting that weekly COVID-19 death totals in the U.S. will likely continue to drop in the weeks to come, though thousands of Americans are still expected to lose their lives to the virus.

PHOTO: A visitor sits on a bench to look at a temporary art installation made up of white flags to commemorate Americans who have died of COVID-19, on the National Mall, in Washington, D.C., Oct. 2, 2021.
A visitor sits on a bench to look at artist Suzanne Brennan Firstenberg's "In America: Remember," a temporary art installation made up of white flags to commemorate Americans who have died of COVID-19, on the National Mall, in Washington, D.C., Oct. 2, 2021.
Jose Luis Magana/AP

The model expects approximately 18,000 deaths to occur in the next two weeks, with a total of around 757,000 deaths recorded in the U.S. by Nov. 13.

The ensemble model estimates that 19 states and territories of the U.S. have a greater than 50% chance of having more deaths in the next two weeks compared to the past two weeks, and that four states and territories (Alaska, Nebraska, Ohio and American Samoa) have a greater than 75% chance of an increase over the next two weeks.

-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos

Oct 20, 2021, 5:21 PM EDT

FDA authorizes booster shots for Moderna, J&J vaccines

The FDA authorized booster shots for the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines for some populations Wednesday.

Moderna's vaccine can be administered at least six months after the second dose for people ages 65 and up and those ages 18 through 64 who either are at high risk of severe COVID-19 infection or have occupational exposure to the virus, the FDA said.

The J&J booster can be administered at least two months after the single-dose shot to those ages 18 and up, the agency said.

The FDA, which authorized Pfizer's booster dose last month, also said it will allow people to mix booster doses.

-ABC News' Anne Flaherty and Eric Strauss

Oct 20, 2021, 12:54 PM EDT

UK cases could climb as high as 100K per day

In the United Kingdom, cases are up 16% since last week, officials said Wednesday. As winter nears, Health Secretary Sajid Javid warned that infections could go as high as 100,000 per day.

Deaths, however, remain low in the country. Officials are encouraging residents to get booster shots.

-ABC News' Joe Simonetti

Oct 20, 2021, 11:35 AM EDT

Cases on the rise in upper Midwest

Montana and Wyoming are now leading the nation in cases, followed by Idaho, Alaska, North Dakota and West Virginia, according to federal data.

Two states in the upper Midwest are seeing notable upticks in daily infections: Michigan and Minnesota have both seen case averages jump by more than 25% in the last month. 

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz announces measures on Friday, Oct. 15, 2021, to use the Minnesota National Guard to alleviate staffing shortages at health care facilities that have been hit hard by the COVID-19 surge.
Grant Schulte/AP, FILE

An emergency room nurse talks with a patient outside the emergency room as a triage unit is set up outside Beaumont Hospital to manage with rising coronavirus disease cases in Grosse Pointe, Mich., April 16, 2021.
Emily Elconin/Reuters, FILE

Hospital admissions in the U.S. have dropped by about 10.7% in the last week, according to federal data.

However, thousands of Americans are still dying every week. The daily death average -- 1,250 -- is higher than this time one year ago, before any vaccines were available.

-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos

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