COVID-19 updates: White House press secretary Jen Psaki tests positive
Psaki said she has mild symptoms and is working from home.
As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 4.9 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 744,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering.
Just 67.7% 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:
SCOTUS rejects bid to block Maine vaccine mandate for health care workers
The U.S. Supreme Court has denied a request for an emergency injunction against Maine's COVID-19 vaccine mandate for health care staff.
A Maine physician and several others had sued the state over the mandate, which required that all health care workers be fully vaccinated by Oct. 1, because it disallows religious exemptions.
With three justices dissenting, the high court rejected the application Friday, though it could still grant the case on the merits and take it up for further consideration.
-ABC News' Devin Dwyer
Federal court lifts pause on New York vaccine mandate for health care workers
A federal appeals court has lifted an injunction on New York's statewide COVID-19 vaccine mandate for health care workers seeking a religious exemption.
The court Friday returned the case to the district court for further proceedings. But for now, the state can once again enforce the mandate despite religious objections.
Seventeen people had sued the state after it ordered health care staff at hospitals and nursing homes to get at least one dose by Sept. 27, saying the mandate violated their constitutional rights because it disallowed religious objections.
-ABC News' Aaron Katersky
FDA authorizes pediatric vaccine
The FDA authorized the Pfizer vaccine for children ages 5 to 11 on Friday.
An initial 15 million doses are expected to start shipping out of Pfizer’s manufacturing plant within 24 hours.
No vaccinations will start until the CDC director signs off. The director is likely to sign off on Nov. 2, with vaccinations likely beginning Nov. 3.
Being vaccinated offers better protection than being infected: CDC study
A new study from the CDC finds that people with "natural" immunity through infection were more than five times more likely to become infected with COVID-19 compared to people who were fully vaccinated.
The study reviewed more than 7,000 people across nine states, measuring infections and hospitalization rates three to six months after either vaccination or initial infection. The study -- published in the CDC's weekly journal, the MMWR -- reaffirms prior research indicating that vaccines offer superior protection than natural immunity.
-ABC News' Sony Salzman
FDNY vaccination rates increase as commissioner warns members against 'bogus sick leave'
The FDNY released updated data on the vaccination status of its members Sunday evening, two days after the city imposed a mandate on all public employees.
About 80% of all of the fire department's members are vaccinated -- 90% of civilian employees, 87% of EMTs and paramedics and 75% of firefighters -- the department said.
Last week, a group of firefighters, police officers and other public employees staged protests against Mayor Bill de Blasio's vaccine mandate.
More than 2,000 of the 11,000 total firefighter personnel have been on medical leave at some point over the past week, according to the FDNY.
New York City Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro said no firehouses were closed as a result of the medical leaves, however, he issued a strong warning against any member who was deliberately skipping work.
"Irresponsible bogus sick leave by some of our members is creating a danger for New Yorkers and their fellow firefighters. They need to return to work or risk the consequences of their actions,” Nigro said in a statement.
-ABC News' Joshua Hoyos and Matt Foster and WABC's Morena Basterio