LIVE UPDATES
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.
Latest headlines:
Gov. Abbott issues executive order maintaining ban on vaccine mandates
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued an executive order on Wednesday maintaining a ban on vaccine mandates.
Abbott also said he added the vaccine mandate issue to Texas' Special Session agenda.
Abbott tested positive for COVID-19 last week and has since tested negative.
Pfizer asks FDA for full booster dose approval
Pfizer on Wednesday asked the Food and Drug Administration for full approval for a booster dose. The company said its Phase 3 data showed that people who received a third dose between five to eight months after the second shot had antibody levels three times higher than levels seen after the second dose.
Because the Pfizer shots were approved by the FDA on Monday, Pfizer is now asking the agency to consider a "supplemental" application for boosters for people ages 16 and over. This is a "rolling submission," with Pfizer intending to complete the submission by the end of the week.
The Biden administration said its goal is to have boosters available beginning Sept. 20, with the recommendation of getting one eight months after the second shot of Pfizer or Moderna.
-ABC News' Sony Salzman
Baby dies in Louisiana marking state's 1st pediatric death in 6 months
A baby under the age of 1 died in connection to COVID-19 in the last 24 hours in Louisiana, the state's Department of Health said Wednesday.
This marked Louisiana's first pediatric COVID-19 death in six months, the department said. The baby was one of 110 people in Louisiana to die of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours.
Eleven children in Louisiana have died from COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, the department said.
Hospitalizations at highest point in 7 months
There are now over 100,000 COVID-19 patients in U.S. hospitals, the most in seven months, according to federal data.
The rate of hospital admissions per capita among Americans 29 and younger is at the highest point of the pandemic, according to federal data.
Compared with July 4, six times as many children are being admitted to hospitals, and daily deaths are up 281% over the last six weeks to 775, according to federal data.
Eight states have ICUs over 90% full: Alabama (100%), Arkansas (89.58%), Florida (93.52%), Georgia (92.74%), Kentucky (89.33%), Mississippi (92.93%), Oklahoma (88.93%) and Texas (93.12%).
-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos
Pediatrician emphasizes importance of getting vaccine during pregnancy
Columbia University pediatrician Dr. Edith Bracho Sanchez spoke with ABC News' Linsey Davis about the importance of getting a COVID-19 vaccine during pregnancy and while nursing.
Recent health data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has shown that three out of four pregnant women in the U.S. are unvaccinated, and the numbers are lower for Black pregnant women, with nine out of 10 unvaccinated.
Sanchez, who is eight months pregnant and vaccinated, told ABC News that expecting mothers are more vulnerable to diseases and the current data shows the vaccines are safe for them.
"We now know from over close to 40,000 women that there is no increased risk of miscarriage of early delivery of your baby, which are the things that worry a lot of pregnant women," she said.
Sanchez said she did not hesitate to get her shots once she became eligible.
"I really, really hope that pregnant women out there hear this call and go ahead and get themselves this vaccine and protect themselves, their baby and their pregnancy," she said.