Jesse Jackson, wife hospitalized with COVID-19

The civil rights pioneer was vaccinated in January.

ByEmily Shapiro, Julia Jacobo, Morgan Winsor, Erin Schumaker, and Meredith Deliso
Last Updated: August 23, 2021, 7:23 AM EDT

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

More than 628,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 while over 4.4 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 59.9% 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 is developing today. All times Eastern.
Aug 17, 2021, 9:03 AM EDT

Biden administration ships 1st of 500 million vaccine doses to Rwanda

The Biden administration on Tuesday will ship the first 188,370 doses of a 500 million dose commitment of the Pfizer vaccine to Rwanda, according to a senior administration official. The 500 million dose pledge was announced at the G7 summit in June and the contract the U.S. negotiated with Pfizer identified late August as the goal for initial shipments.

The U.S. is also sending 300,000 additional U.S. surplus doses to Rwanda Tuesday, making this first total shipment 488,370. All the doses will be distributed through Covax, the World Health Organization's vaccine-sharing initiative. 

-ABC News' Sarah Kolinovsky

Aug 17, 2021, 12:18 PM EDT

Chicago Marathon will require vaccination or negative COVID test

The 35,000 runners at this year's Chicago Marathon must provide proof of vaccination or a negative test administered within 72 hours.

The marathon is set to take place Sunday, Oct. 10.

-ABC News' Joshua Hoyos

Aug 17, 2021, 5:20 AM EDT

US reports over 200,000 new cases in a day for 3rd time this month

There were 209,988 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in the United States on Monday, according to a real-time count kept by Johns Hopkins University, although that data likely includes a backlog from the weekend.

Health care workers are seen inside the COVID-19 intensive care unit in North Oaks Hospital in Hammond, Louisiana, on Aug. 13, 2021.
Emily Kask/AFP via Getty Images

This is the third time this month that the U.S. has reported more than 200,000 newly confirmed infections in a single day.

Many states are no longer reporting COVID-19 data daily. Single-day case totals, particularly early on in the week, may be skewed as a result of a backlog release of data.

Aug 17, 2021, 4:38 AM EDT

Bangladesh extends COVID-19 vaccines to Rohingya refugees

Bangladesh has launched a COVID-19 vaccination program for Rohingya refugees housed in one of the world's largest and most densely populated camps in Cox's Bazar, according to a press release from the World Health Organization.

The campaign, led by the Bangladeshi government with technical support from the WHO and other partners, is initially targeting nearly 48,000 Rohingya refugees who are 55 and older. It's part of Bangladesh's national deployment and vaccination plan to ensure equity and fair allocation of vaccines across the country.

A Rohingya refugee is vaccinated in a camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, on Aug. 12, 2021.
Allison Joyce/Getty Images

"Bangladesh is demonstrating what WHO has been advocating for -- equitable access to vaccines," Dr. Poonam Khetrapal Singh, regional director of the WHO South-East Asia Region, said in a statement Monday. "Inclusion is key to protecting vulnerable populations like the refugees, for safeguarding their health and that of their host communities and societies."

More than 1 million Rohingya -- a stateless ethnic group who predominantly practice Islam -- are sheltering in crowded camps in Bangladesh after fleeing persecution in Buddhist-majority Myanmar.

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