COVID-19 updates: Classes in Chicago canceled for 4th day
Chicago Public Schools has been in talks with teachers over COVID-19 safety.
As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5.4 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 837,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering.
About 62.5% 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:
- 1 in 5 Americans have tested positive for COVID-19
- Half of NYC COVID hospitalized patients were admitted for other reasons
- COVID vaccines can cause temporary menstrual cycle changes: Study
- CDC director responds to criticism of COVID-19 guidance
- Florida allowed up to 1 million COVID-19 tests to expire, official says
US now averaging nearly 500,000 daily cases, data shows
Data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from the weekend shows that the U.S. is now averaging nearly half a million new cases a day.
About a year ago, the U.S. was reporting an average of about 216,000 new cases a day. However, compared to last winter, hospital admissions and daily deaths are notably lower.
Over the last week, the U.S. reported more than 3.4 million new cases -- roughly averaging out to nearly six Americans testing positive every second.
-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos
Florida hospitals say half of COVID patients admitted for other reasons
At least three major health systems in Florida said half of their COVID-19 patients were originally admitted to hospitals for other reasons.
During a briefing about the pandemic in Jacksonville on Tuesday, Gov. Ron DeSantis said about 50% of COVID hospitalizations at Orlando Health and Miami Jackson Health and 60% at Tallahassee Memorial were being treated for other reasons and learned were positive for the virus during their stays.
In a tweet, Miami Jackson Health said its exact figure is 53%.
DeSantis called on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to change the way it reports COVID-19 hospitalizations.
"It really isn't instructive if you have something that is very widespread and mild, and it's catching people as they go into the hospital with positive tests, but they're not actually having any clinical diagnosis," he said.
It comes one day after New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said hospitals in her state would be surveyed about how many patients were being admitted to hospitals for COVID as opposed to with COVID.
-ABC News' Will McDuffie
Daily COVID deaths in US up 10% in last week
The U.S. is recording 1,200 new COVID-19 deaths every day, up by about 10% in the last week, according to federal data.
Nearly 828,000 Americans have now died due to the virus. Just three weeks ago, the death toll surpassed 800,000.
Additionally, more than 112,000 Americans are currently hospitalized with COVID-19, with just under a fifth of those patients -- nearly 20,000 -- in intensive care units.
On average, more than 12,700 people in the U.S. are being admitted to hospitals with COVID-19 daily, a figure which has nearly doubled over the last month.
-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos
COVID vaccines not linked to premature births: CDC study
COVID-19 vaccines do not increase the risk of premature or low-weight birth among babies born to pregnant vaccinated women compared with those born to unvaccinated women, according to a new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published Tuesday.
Researchers from Yale looked at electronic health data from more than 40,000 pregnant women from the CDC's Vaccine Safety Datalink.
There were 7.0 premature births for every 100,000 babies born among unvaccinated women compared to 4.9 births per 100,000 for babies born to women who received a COVID vaccine while pregnant.
Additionally, rates of low-birth weight were 8.2 per 100,000 in both the unvaccinated and vaccinated groups.
The team said the findings add to a growing body of evidence that getting vaccinated against COVID is safe for pregnant people and for their babies.
Pregnant women are at increased risk for severe illness, hospitalization and death from COVID-19, but only 40% have been vaccinated, CDC data shows.
Starbucks says workers must get COVID vaccine or be tested weekly
Starbucks is requiring its 220,000 workers to get the COVID-19 vaccine or be tested weekly, complying with the Biden administration's vaccine mandate for private businesses.
Employees must reveal their vaccination status by Jan. 10, according to a letter sent Monday by Starbucks Chief Operating Officer John Culver, Reuters first reported.
"This is an important step we can take to help more partners get vaccinated, limit the spread of COVID-19, and create choices that partners can own based on what's best for them," Culver wrote.
Workers will have until Feb. 9 to be fully vaccinated.
Those who choose to undergo weekly testing instead will be responsible for obtaining their own tests -- which cannot be self-administered or taken at home -- and submitting results.