COVID-19 updates: 345 children currently hospitalized with coronavirus in Texas
That number was up from 282 on Thursday.
The United States is facing a COVID-19 surge this summer as the more contagious delta variant spreads.
More than 643,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 while over 4.5 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 61.7% 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:
Risk of developing myocarditis higher for unvaccinated, CDC says
The benefits of getting a COVID-19 vaccine outweigh the risk of getting myocarditis from the vaccine, CDC experts say, adding that it's even more apparent now that cases are spiking among young people.
The risk of getting myocarditis - inflammation from the heart muscle – from the virus is much higher than getting it from a vaccine, scientists said at a CDC advisory panel Monday, pointing to new data.
The CDC estimates that the risk of myocarditis for the highest risk group -- young males age 16 to 17 -- is about 73 cases per million doses of the Pfizer vaccine.
The public health agency also estimates that 56,700 cases of COVID-19 would be prevented in that same age group for every million vaccines.
In addition, the risk of myocarditis after actually getting COVID-19 is six to 34 times higher than it is from getting a vaccine.
-ABC News’ Cheyenne Haslett
More than half of US nearing ICU capacity
As of Aug. 29, dozens of states were reporting limited beds in intensive care units, with 23 states reporting over 80% capacity and six states reporting over 90% capacity, CDC experts announced at an advisory panel Monday.
The panel also found that the risks of contracting COVID-19 are still much higher for the unvaccinated.
People between ages 18 and 49 are 24 times more likely to be hospitalized if unvaccinated, according to the CDC, 19 times higher for unvaccinated populations between 50 and 64 and 13 times for unvaccinated people 65 and older.
-ABC News’ Cheyenne Haslett
Vaccine effectiveness against hospitalization drops slightly, CDC says
The COVID-19 vaccines' ability to keep people out of the hospital appears to be dropping slightly, particularly for those 75 and older, although the vaccines still remain highly effective at preventing serious illness, according to an analysis by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention presented Monday during an advisory panel.
The CDC has previously estimated that 97% of people in the hospital being treated for COVID-19 are unvaccinated, but that data was collected before the spread of delta, a hyper-transmissible variant that many doctors have warned appears to be making people sicker.
Health experts are also concerned that a person’s immunity could be waning over time, particularly among older people whose bodies are less likely than young people to develop a strong immune response to the vaccines.
The latest CDC analysis estimates that the ability of the COVID vaccines to keep a person out of the hospital is now between 75% to 95%.
For people older than 75 in particular, vaccine effectiveness against hospitalization experienced the steepest decline, from more than 90% to 80% between June and July.
However, the vaccines still remain highly effective at preventing serious illness, according to the briefing. "COVID-19 vaccines continue to maintain high protection against severe disease, hospitalization, and death," the CDC notes.
-ABC News’ Anne Flaherty
Pediatric hospitalizations nearly 4 times higher in states with low vaccination: CDC
Two studies to be published Friday found fewer pediatric hospitalizations among children and communities with higher vaccination rates, the director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
In one study, national data from August showed that children were nearly four times more likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19 in the states with the lowest vaccination rates when compared to states with the highest rates -- proof that "cocooning" children with vaccinated people keeps them safe, Dr. Rochelle Walensky said at a White House briefing Thursday.
The second study, which looked at hospitalizations rates in 12- to 17-year-olds across 14 states during July, found that adolescents who were unvaccinated were 10 times more likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19 than their fully vaccinated peers, Walensky said.
"Both studies, one thing is clear: cases, emergency room visits and hospitalizations are much lower among children and communities with higher vaccination rates," Walensky said. "We must come together to ensure that our children, indeed, our future, remain safe and healthy during this time."
-ABC News' Cheyenne Haslett