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COVID-19 live updates: Judge rules Florida governor stop banning mask mandates in schools

Ten Florida school districts have adopted mask mandates for students this month.

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

More than 634,000 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 60.8% of Americans ages 12 and up are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.


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Pentagon announces mandatory Pfizer vaccinations

The Pentagon on Wednesday announced mandatory Pfizer vaccinations, calling it "necessary to protect the safety of our service members and force."

Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said 68% of the active duty force is fully vaccinated and just over 76% have had at least one dose.

Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine was granted full approval by the FDA on Monday.


-ABC News' Luis Martinez


Delta Air Lines raising health insurance premiums for unvaccinated employees

Delta is raising health insurance premiums for unvaccinated employees by $200 a month to cover COVID-19 costs like potential hospitalization, which the airline says has cost it $40,000 per person on average.

In recent weeks, all Delta employees hospitalized with COVID-19 were not fully vaccinated, Delta CEO Ed Bastian wrote in a memo to employees.

Currently 75% of Delta employees are vaccinated, according to the airline.

The health insurance premium begins Nov. 1.

Unvaccinated employees will also have to wear masks indoors and be required to take a weekly COVID test beginning Sept. 12.

-ABC News' Mina Kaji


Moderna finalizes submission to FDA for full approval

Moderna has finalized submission of its application to the Food and Drug Administration for full approval of its COVID-19 vaccine, the company announced Monday.

It's not yet clear how long the FDA will take to review Moderna’s application.

Pfizer completed its vaccine application in May and was granted full approval on Monday.

-ABC News' Eric Strauss


J&J says its vaccine booster shot raises antibody levels 9-fold

In the midst of a delta variant surge, a new study finds that giving a booster dose of the Johnson & Johnson shot six months after primary vaccination results in a nine-fold increase of a crucial antibody response, according to a company press release.

Meanwhile, a prior study found that people vaccinated with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine still had a durable immune response at least eight months later, even without a booster.

Collectively, the findings could help inform the U.S. government's recommendations about booster shots for the 14 million people who received the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

Boosting after six months "appears to be safe, and boosts immune responses substantially," Dr. Dan Barouch, Ph.D., director of the Center for Virology and Vaccine Research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, told ABC News.

-ABC News' Sony Salzman


Judge rules Florida governor stop banning mask mandates in schools

A Tallahassee judge ruled Friday that Florida school boards can enact student mask mandates, going against Gov. Ron DeSantis, who in July issued an executive order that set off a public feud with school districts.


Judge John C. Cooper found that a blanket ban on face masks in schools "does not meet constitutional muster" and ordered the Florida Department of Education to stop enforcing a state rule that requires districts to allow parents to opt-out of mask mandates.


Cooper, over about two hours, picked apart the state's defense, saying the science presented during the weeklong trial did not support the state's argument against masking children.

Ten Florida school districts have adopted mask mandates for students this month. Two -- Broward and Alachua -- were sanctioned by the Florida commissioner of education, who said he would begin withholding the salaries of board members who voted to require masks.

DeSantis will "immediately appeal" the ruling, the governor's press secretary, Christina Pushaw, said in a statement. "This ruling was made with incoherent justifications, not based in science and facts," Pushaw said.

A spokesman for the Florida Department of Education said, "We are immensely disappointed that the ruling issued today by the Second Judicial Circuit discards the rule of law. This decision conflicts with basic and established rights of parents to make private health care and education decisions for children. ... We are committed to the fundamental rights of parents and will push forward on appeal to ensure that this foundation of democracy is upheld."

-ABC News' Will McDuffie