Jesse Jackson, wife hospitalized with COVID-19
The civil rights pioneer was vaccinated in January.
The United States is facing a COVID-19 surge this summer as the more contagious delta variant spreads.
More than 628,000 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 59.9% 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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Bangladesh extends COVID-19 vaccines to Rohingya refugees
Bangladesh has launched a COVID-19 vaccination program for Rohingya refugees housed in one of the world's largest and most densely populated camps in Cox's Bazar, according to a press release from the World Health Organization.
The campaign, led by the Bangladeshi government with technical support from the WHO and other partners, is initially targeting nearly 48,000 Rohingya refugees who are 55 and older. It's part of Bangladesh's national deployment and vaccination plan to ensure equity and fair allocation of vaccines across the country.
"Bangladesh is demonstrating what WHO has been advocating for -- equitable access to vaccines," Dr. Poonam Khetrapal Singh, regional director of the WHO South-East Asia Region, said in a statement Monday. "Inclusion is key to protecting vulnerable populations like the refugees, for safeguarding their health and that of their host communities and societies."
More than 1 million Rohingya -- a stateless ethnic group who predominantly practice Islam -- are sheltering in crowded camps in Bangladesh after fleeing persecution in Buddhist-majority Myanmar.
Biden admin expected to recommend boosters for all Americans
The Biden administration could soon be urging Americans to get a booster shot eight months after completing their original vaccination, a source familiar with the discussions told ABC News Monday.
Federal health officials and experts are currently coalescing around the idea that all Americans should receive a booster, the source said. Those booster shots could be rolled out as soon as mid to late September -- pending Food and Drug Administration authorization.
The announcement, first reported by The New York Times and The Washington Post, could come as soon as this week.
The new timeline for the booster shots in a significant shift for the administration, which previously had been non-comital on when boosters for the majority of Americans would be needed.
-ABC News’ Molly Nagle
El Paso sues state of Texas over ban on mask mandates
The city of El Paso has filed a lawsuit challenging Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s ban on mask mandates in the state to allow for local protective measures to be ordered in the county.
Starting Wednesday at 12:01 a.m., a local health authority order will mandate that all individuals over the age of 2 wear some form of face covering while in public indoor spaces.
The parents of children under the age of 10 will be responsible for appropriately masking their children while outside their home, city officials said.
The order comes after El Paso City-County Health Authority Dr. Hector Ocaranza recommended masks at all indoor facilities in the county.
A face covering is not required on those who are eating or drinking or anyone who has trouble breathing, has a medical condition or disability that prevents wearing a face covering.
-ABC News’ James Scholz.
2nd field hospital to open in Mississippi following record-number of hospitalizations
Another field hospital with critical care capacity is now under construction on the University of Mississippi Medical Center’s campus – just days after the first in the state was opened in the parking garage of the medical center.
The opening comes in response to a record number of COVID-19-related hospitalizations across the state, and an "increasingly dire" crisis, the hospital said on Monday.
On Monday, Samaritan’s Purse began setting up the second surge facility for adult patients in another parking lot on the UMMC campus. Medical staff from the organization will provide care for up to 32 patients at a time. The facility will include five intensive care beds.
"We have approximately 30 patients statewide, including upwards of 10 individuals at UMMC, waiting for ICU beds at any given time," Dr. LouAnn Woodward, vice chancellor of health affairs and dean of the School of Medicine at UMMC, said in a statement. "These startling numbers prove just how critical the COVID-19 crisis is in the state."
Hospitals around the state will continue to transfer severely ill COVID-19 patients to UMMC for a higher level of care.
-ABC News’ Arielle Mitropoulos
Delta likely contributed to vaccine's waning protection: Murthy
U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy announced at Wednesday's White House briefing, "Having reviewed the most current data, it is now our clinical judgment that the time to lay out a plan for COVID-19 boosters is now."
Murthy said protection against mild disease has decreased, likely a combination of waning vaccine protection over time and the strength of the delta variant, and that the administration is "concerned" that protection could continue to erode.
"Even though this new data affirms that vaccine protection remains high against the worst outcomes of COVID, we are concerned that this pattern of decline we're seeing will continue in the months ahead, which could lead to reduced protection against severe disease, hospitalization and death," Murthy said.
"That is why, today, we are announcing our plan to stay ahead of this virus by being prepared to offer COVID-19 booster shots to fully vaccinated adults 18 years and older," Murthy said. "They would be eligible for their booster shot eight months after receiving their second dose of the Pfizer or Modern mRNA vaccines."
The boosters are set to begin Sept. 20, but Murthy emphasized that this is pending FDA authorization and also reiterated that does not yet apply to J&J recipients.
-ABC News' Cheyenne Haslet