COVID-19 updates: US cases at lowest point since Christmas
Daily cases have dropped by 71% over the last three weeks.
As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5.8 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 919,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering.
About 64.4% of the population in the United States is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Latest headlines:
Cases among kids continue to drop but are still 'extremely high'
After the U.S. reported an unprecedented number of new pediatric COVID-19 infections last month, updated data released on Monday shows new cases among children have dropped for the second week in a row.
Nearly 632,000 kids tested positive for COVID-19 last week, a huge drop from the peak level of 1,150,000 reported the week ending Jan. 20, according to a new report by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association.
However, the organizations warn that pediatric cases remain "extremely high" and are still double the level seen in the summer delta surge.
AAP and CHA noted there is an "urgent" need to collect more age-specific data to assess the severity of illness related to new variants as well as potential longer-term effects.
-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos
Connecticut to end statewide school mask mandate
Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont announced Monday that he recommends ending the statewide mask mandate as of Feb. 28.
Beginning in March, the decision on masks in schools will go to superintendents and mayors based on the individual needs of towns, he said.
This comes hours after New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said his requirement to wear face masks in schools will end on March 7.
The CDC said it continues to recommend masks for all students 2 and older, regardless of vaccination status.
White House has contracted 569 million free tests so far
President Joe Biden's administration has so far contracted for about 569 million at-home rapid tests as it works to fulfill Biden's pledge for 1 billion free tests nationwide, a White House official told ABC News.
According to an ABC News analysis, the testing company iHealth is supplying the government with the most tests toward this goal, with a contract to deliver 354 million tests. Other companies supplying tests include Roche, Abbott and Siemens.
White House officials said about 60 million households have placed orders for tests so far through , amounting to a total of 240 million tests (each household can order four).
The U.S. Postal Service said Friday it's shipped out tests to "tens of millions" of those households.
-ABC News' Cheyenne Haslett, Ben Gittleson, Lucien Bruggeman
New Jersey governor to end mask mandate for schools
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy announced Monday that the state’s requirement to wear face masks in schools will end on March 7.
"Balancing public health with getting back to some semblance of normalcy is not easy. But we can responsibly take this step due to declining COVID numbers and growth in vaccinations," Murphy tweeted.
Murphy, a Democrat, has imposed some of the strictest pandemic-related mandates in the country. New Jersey, an early hot spot for COVID-19 cases, has lost more than 31,000 residents to the virus.
This move follows a decision last month by Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf, also a Democrat, to rescind his state's mask mandate for schools.
Meanwhile, the Democratic governors of New York and Connecticut have said that they are reevaluating school mask mandates set to expire later this month.
-ABC News' Aaron Katersky
Pfizer delays request for vaccine for kids under 5
Pfizer said it has postponed its application to the FDA to expand the use of its COVID-19 vaccine for kids under 5.
Pfizer instead will continue with its study on the three-dose vaccine and seek authorization when that data is available.
"We believe additional information regarding the ongoing evaluation of a third dose should be considered as part of our decision-making for potential authorization," Pfizer said.
Dr. Peter Marks, the FDA’s vaccine chief, told reporters Friday, “We realized now, in data that came in very rapidly because of the large number of cases of omicron, that at this time, it makes sense for us to wait until we have the data from the evaluation of a third dose before taking action."
Marks acknowledged that the change was “late breaking” -- the FDA’s committee of independent advisers was scheduled to review and vote on authorizing the vaccine next week -- but said the job of the FDA was to “adjust” to new data amid an unpredictable virus.
“The data that we saw made us realize that we needed to see data from a third dose as in the ongoing trial in order to make the term determination that we could proceed with doing an authorization,” Marks said.
Pfizer has predicted it will be able to submit data on the third dose in early April.
-ABC News' Eric M. Strauss, Cheyenne Haslett