The United States is facing a COVID-19 surge this summer as the more contagious delta variant spreads.
More than 672,000 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 63.6% of Americans ages 12 and up are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Here's how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Sep 16, 2021, 2:25 PM EDT
Italy votes to mandate COVID health pass for workplaces
A COVID Green Pass will be required for all workers in Italy, in both private and public sectors, beginning Oct. 15, the government announced Thursday.
An employee shows her "Green Pass", a document showing proof of Covid-19 immunity, in an office in Rome, Italy, Sept. 16, 2021.
Yara Nardi/Reuters
A teacher, left, has her so-called "Green Pass" checked by a school worker as she arrives at the "Isacco Newton" high school, in Rome, Sept. 13, 2021.
Andrew Medichini/AP
The Green Pass proves a person is vaccinated, has recovered from COVID-19 or has had a negative test in the last two days.
Employees who go to work without the pass face a five-day suspension without pay.
-ABC News' Christine Theodorou
Sep 16, 2021, 12:20 PM EDT
What to expect at Friday's panel on Pfizer booster shots
An FDA advisory panel will convene in open session Friday to debate the latest booster shot data submitted by Pfizer, and following a non-binding vote, the FDA is expected to formally amend its current vaccine approval for Pfizer.
A syringe with the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine is prepared in a mobile vaccine clinic operated by Families Together of Orange County in Santa Ana, Calif.
Jae C. Hong/AP
Opening remarks are set for 8:30 a.m. ET. That's followed by introductions by the FDA, presentations from CDC representatives, discussion of booster protection and a presentation from Pfizer.
After a public hearing portion in the afternoon and a Q&A on the Pfizer and FDA presentations, the committee is expected to debate the issue for about two hours. A vote is expected at about 4:45 p.m. ET.
Next week, the matter heads to the CDC’s independent advisory panel whose members will discuss whoshould get a booster and when.
-ABC News' Sasha Pezenik
Sep 16, 2021, 10:47 AM EDT
Booster shots begin in England
Booster shots are now being administered in England.
People walk past a Covid vaccination sign outside a hospital in central London, Sept. 9, 2021. The UK government is expected to announce a decision on Covid vaccination boosters and vaccinations for children aged twelve to fifteen years of age.
ANDY RAIN/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Eligible people must be six months out from their last shot and include: adults ages 50 and over; people in residential care homes; frontline health care workers; social workers; people who are immunocompromised; and caregivers for the immunocompromised.
About 4.5 million people will be eligible for a booster in the next few weeks.
-ABC News' Christine Theodorou
Sep 16, 2021, 9:01 AM EDT
Pope Francis discusses vaccine hesitancy
Pope Francis said Wednesday he found it "ironic" that a cardinal who was not vaccinated against COVID-19 had been hospitalized with the virus.
Speaking to reporters on his plane while returning to Rome after visiting Hungary and Slovakia, Francis discussed the hesitancy against COVID-19 vaccines and how it has divided people.
"It's strange because humanity has a friendly relationship with vaccines," the pope said. "As children, we got them for measles, for other things, for polio. All the children were vaccinated, and no one said anything. Then this happened."
Pope Francis speaks with journalists on board an Alitalia aircraft en route from Bratislava back to Rome on Sept. 15, 2021, after a four-day pilgrimage to Hungary and Slovakia.
Tiziana Fabi, Pool via AP
"Even in the College of Cardinals, there are some anti-vaxxers," he added, "and one of them, poor man, is in hospital with the virus. But life is ironic."
Although Francis didn't identify the man by name, it appeared he was referring to American Cardinal Raymond Burke, one of the Catholic church's most outspoken conservatives who eschewed the COVID-19 vaccine and spent days on a ventilator after contracting the virus in August.
Francis noted that everyone in the Vatican, "except for a small group," has been vaccinated against COVID-19.
