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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J&J looking into booster of its single-dose vaccine
Johnson & Johnson said Wednesday it is "engaging" with the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other health authorities on a booster of its single-dose COVID-19 vaccine.
The company said it "will share new data shortly regarding boosting" with its vaccine, which one study suggests provides immunity for at least eight months.
The statement comes after the Biden administration said Wednesday it is preparing to roll out booster shots of Pfizer's and Moderna's vaccines to more Americans next month.
California to require proof of vaccination or negative test for large indoor events
People attending large-scale indoor events in California soon will be required to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a recent negative COVID-19 test, state officials announced Wednesday.
The new rules apply to indoor events with more than 1,000 people beginning Sept. 20. Tests must be administered within 72 hours of the event.
Currently, attendees have to self-attest to either having the vaccine or a negative test to attend events with more than 5,000 people.
Health officials pointed to the highly transmissible nature of the delta variant in updating the rules.
Biden will issue memo to block Republican anti-mask efforts in schools
President Joe Biden plans to issue a memo to Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona Wednesday to counter the Republican governors who have blocked mask mandates in their states.
"Some state governments have adopted policies and laws that interfere with the ability of schools and districts to keep our children safe during in-person learning, with some going as far as to try to block school officials from adopting safety protocols aligned with recommendations from the CDC," according to a fact sheet released by the White House Wednesday.
Biden's memo will ensure the department of education "is doing everything it can to prevent anything from standing in the way of local leaders and school leaders taking steps to keep all students safe in full-time, in-person learning, without compromising students' health or the health of their families or communities," the fact sheet continues.
In a press conference, the president had a blunt message for Republican governors who are banning school districts from requiring masks in schools: "If you aren't going to fight COVID-19, at least get out of the way of everyone else who is trying."
Biden said his administration is not going to "sit by as governors try to block and intimidate educators protecting children," and announced that he's directing Cardona to go as far as using legal action against these governors and that his administration will use COVID-19 relief funds to pay the salaries of educators who defy them.
-ABC News' Justin Gomez
Biden to announce nursing homes must require employee vaccination to get federal funding
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services plans to require nursing homes participating in Medicare or Medicaid to have all workers be vaccinated for COVID-19, a Biden administration official confirmed to ABC News Wednesday.
The new rule, which will impact more than 15,000 nursing homes and 1.3 million workers, will go into effect in late September. Nursing homes that don't comply could lose federal funding.
-ABC News' Cheyenne Haslett
US surgeon general defends plan for booster shots
U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy defended the Biden administration's plans to for many Americans the week of Sept. 20, despite criticism from the World Health Organization and others that the U.S. should not offer booster shots to Americans while many countries lag in vaccine access.
"We have to protect American lives and we have to help vaccinate the world because that is the only way this pandemic ends," Murthy told ABC "This Week" co-anchor Martha Raddatz.
ABC News' Julia Cherner