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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Boston indoor mask mandate goes into effect next week
Boston will require face masks in all indoor public settings beginning Aug. 27 at 8 a.m., Mayor Kim Janey announced in a Friday statement.
"We know that masks work best when everyone wears one," Janey said. "Requiring masks indoors is a proactive public health measure to limit transmission of the Delta variant, boost the public confidence in our businesses and venues, and protect the residents of our city who are too young for vaccination.”
-ABC News' William Gretsky
Unvaccinated Black people 'biggest group' driving COVID spike: Texas Lt Gov
Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick told Fox News Channel host Laura Ingraham that "African-Americans who have not been vaccinated" are the "the biggest group in most states" driving the spike in COVID-19 cases, during a Thursday interview.
Patrick doubled down on his comment, adding that "over 90% of them vote for Democrats and their major cities and major counties."
"It's up to the Democrats to get -- just as it's up to Republicans to try to get as many people vaccinated," he said. "In terms of criticizing the Republicans for this, we are encouraging people who want to take it to take it, but they are doing nothing for the African-American community that has significant high number of unvaccinated."
NAACP President Derrick Johnson pushed back in a statement: "Lt. Governor Dan Patrick lives in an alternate reality, where facts don’t matter," Johnson said.
"He’s delusional. Black Texans are not the driving force behind the surge of COVID cases in Texas. His statement is not only baseless, it’s racist. Falsely casting blame on the Black community is one of the oldest tricks in the book, and we expect better from an elected official.”
-ABC News' Brian Hartman
Mississippi's only pediatric hospital sees record COVID-19 patients
Children's of Mississippi, the state's only pediatric hospital, reported a record number of patients Thursday.
There are 28 children, all unvaccinated, with confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19, the highest since the start of the pandemic, the hospital said on Facebook. Among those, eight children are in the intensive care unit, including five not yet old enough to receive the vaccine, the hospital said.
"The best way to protect ALL of Mississippi's kids from COVID-19 is for everyone age 12 and up to get vaccinated," said the hospital, which is part of the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson.
Nearly 43% of Mississippi residents ages 12 and up are fully vaccinated, according to CDC data, one of the lowest rates in the country.
Connecticut issues new vaccine mandates for state employees
Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont announced new COVID-19 vaccine requirements for state employees Thursday.
State employees in hospital facilities will be required to get vaccinated, while all other state employees, K-12 teachers and staff and early childhood staff will need to get tested weekly if they are not vaccinated, he said.
The requirements go into effect Sept. 27 and are on top of a previously announced vaccine mandate for long-term care employees.
"We've done very well, thank you Connecticut, in terms of people getting vaccinated," Lamont said at a press briefing. "We've got to do better."
More than 74% of Connecticut residents ages 12 and up are fully vaccinated, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.
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