COVID-19 updates: More than 10,000 new deaths reported in US in 1 week

Some of the highest death tolls are in Texas, Georgia and North Carolina.

ByEmily Shapiro, Ivan Pereira, Marlene Lenthang, Meredith Deliso, and Morgan Winsor
Last Updated: September 20, 2021, 5:50 AM EDT

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.

Latest headlines:

Here's how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Sep 17, 2021, 2:14 PM EDT

Moderna vaccine appears to provide strongest protection against hospitalization

Moderna's two-shot vaccine seems to offer the strongest protection against hospitalization, though all three vaccines dramatically reduced the risk, according to a new analysis published in the CDC's weekly report MMWR.

The study used a model to estimate effectiveness against hospitalization among 3,689 adults hospitalized from March to August. According to the estimate, vaccine efficacy against hospitalization was: 93% for Moderna; 88% for Pfizer; 71% for Johnson & Johnson.

This study did not specifically analyze delta, did not include people under 18 nor did it include immunocompromised people. This study did look at antibody levels but didn't track a change in antibody levels over time. 

-ABC News' Sony Salzman, Adela Wu

Sep 17, 2021, 1:51 PM EDT

WH COVID team confident there won't be booster supply problems

White House COVID-19 response coordinator Jeff Zients said when boosters start rolling out he's confident there won't be a supply problem as there was when vaccinations began.

A man receives his booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine during an Oakland County Health Department vaccination clinic at the Southfield Pavilion on Aug. 24, 2021, in Southfield, Mich.
Emily Elconin/Getty Images, FILE

“We have plenty of supply of all three vaccines for boosters, obviously pending the FDA and the CDC recommendations," Zients said at Friday's White House COVID-19 Response Team briefing. "We have supply in inventory and we also have supply on order. So supply is in good shape for all Americans to get boosters."

A technician inspects filled vials of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at the company's facility in Puurs, Belgium, March 2021.
AP, FILE

At the briefing CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky announced a $1.2 billion dollar investment in building more resilient health care systems to battle COVID-19 and future illnesses over the next three years. 

-ABC News' Matthew Vann

Sep 17, 2021, 12:40 PM EDT

Over 126,000 Texas kids have tested positive

In Texas, 126,687 children have tested positive for COVID-19 since the school year started, according to state data. But there is a sharp decline in new cases in the last week. More than 5 million students are in Texas schools. 

In this Sept. 13, 2021, file photo, a school bus picks up children on the way to school in San Antonio, Texas.
Matthew Busch/The New York Times via Redux, FILE

At least 24,476 staff members at Texas schools have tested positive, according to state data.

-ABC News' Gina Sunseri

Sep 17, 2021, 11:56 AM EDT

125 employees leave Indiana hospital system after refusing vaccine

Indiana University Health, the state's largest network of physicians, said 125 employees have left after choosing to not get vaccinated.

All workers were required to be fully vaccinated by Sept. 1. Those who didn't were given a two-week unpaid suspension ending Sept. 14, and those who still didn't agree to the shot by that point "left the organization," according to a statement by IU Health.

-ABC News' Will McDuffie

Related Topics