Nearly 74% of eligible Americans have at least 1 COVID-19 vaccine dose

In 13 states, over 80% of the population has at least one dose, CDC data shows.

ByMorgan Winsor, Emily Shapiro, Ivan Pereira, Meredith Deliso, and Marlene Lenthang
Last Updated: September 9, 2021, 5:52 PM EDT

The United States is facing a COVID-19 surge this summer as the more contagious delta variant spreads.

More than 655,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 while over 4.6 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 62.7% of Americans ages 12 and up are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Latest headlines:

Here's how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Sep 09, 2021, 5:52 PM EDT

Biden to unvaccinated Americans: 'The time for waiting is over'

President Joe Biden addressed the millions of Americans who have not yet been vaccinated against COVID-19 while outlining his new six-part strategy to combat the delta variant.

"My message to unvaccinated Americans is this: What more is there to wait for? What more do you need to see?" Biden said during remarks from the White House Thursday evening. "We've made vaccinations free, safe and convenient. The vaccine has FDA approval. Over 200 million Americans have gotten at least one shot. We’ve been patient, but our patience is wearing thin. And your refusal has cost all of us. So, please, do the right thing."

President Joe Biden delivers remarks on plans to stop the spread of the Delta variant and boost COVID-19 vaccinations at the State Dinning Room of the White House, in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 9, 2021.
Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images

The White House plan includes a requirement that all federal government employees and contractors be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. The Department of Labor is also developing an emergency rule for businesses with 100 or more employees to require that their workers be vaccinated or undergo testing at least once a week.

The measures "are going to take time to have full impact," Biden said. "But if we implement them, I believe and the scientists indicate, that the months ahead we can reduce the number of unvaccinated Americans, decrease hospitalizations and deaths and allow our children to go to school safely and keep our economy strong by keeping businesses open."

"The time for waiting is over," he said.

Sep 09, 2021, 4:39 PM EDT

Texas breaks its daily death toll record

Texas has broken its daily death toll record with 408 new fatalities, according to state data.

The previous record was 387 daily deaths in January.

Lab manager Robyn Schuman holds blood samples to be tested for Covid-19 at the Bellville Medical Center, in Bellville, Texas, Sept. 1, 2021.
Francois Picard/AFP via Getty Images

Texas currently has 321 children in the hospital with COVID-19.

-ABC News' Gina Sunseri

Sep 09, 2021, 3:30 PM EDT

Biden's plan requires businesses with 100+ employees to require vaccine or weekly testing

In President Joe Biden's Thursday address he'll announce that all businesses with 100 or more employees must require vaccinations or weekly testing. Businesses that don't comply could be fined, according to a senior administration official. 

“The new vaccination requirements in the president's plan cover about 100 million workers -- that's two-thirds of all workers in the United States,” a senior administration official said on a briefing call with reporters Thursday afternoon. 

A nurse gives a Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine shot to Luis Nufio, an after-school coach, at a Los Angeles Unified School-based mobile vaccination clinic at Eagle Rock High School on Aug. 30, 2021, in Eagle Rock, Calif.
Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times via Polaris, FILE

Biden's also looking to make testing more accessible and affordable. Walmart, Amazon and Kroger will sell at-home rapid tests at-cost for the next three months, meaning the price will drop about 35%.

The mask mandate for interstate travel and on federal property will stay in place through Jan. 18 2022, and the fine for violations will be doubled, the official said.

Biden will address the public at 5 p.m. ET.

-ABC News' Sarah Kolinovsky

Sep 09, 2021, 2:43 PM EDT

6 states request ventilators from federal stockpile

In the last week, the federal government, according to a federal planning document, has received requests for 975 ventilators from six states: Georgia (500), South Carolina (160), New Mexico (115), Oregon (100), Oklahoma (50) and Alaska (four). Navajo Nation also requested 46 ventilators.

The U.S. military has deployed 23-person medical teams to hospitals in Alabama, Louisiana, Idaho and Mississippi, and will be sending a fifth team to Arkansas this weekend.

-ABC News' Brian Hartman

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