Here are the latest global coronavirus numbers, provided by researchers at Johns Hopkins University:

• Confirmed cases: 234,880,093

• Deaths: 4,801,053

• Vaccine doses administered: 6,295,293,146

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have issued new guidelines for staying safe during the upcoming holiday season. According to Axios, the CDC recommends that those holding holiday gatherings host outdoor or virtual celebrations, wear a mask if not fully vaccinated, and use fans by open windows and doors to keep the air fresh. The CDC also advises against unvaccinated individuals traveling for the holidays. "The safest way to celebrate is virtually, with people who live with you, or outside and at least six feet apart from others," the CDC says.

FILE - In this Nov. 30, 2020 file photo, a shopper walks by a holiday window display in New York. Holiday purchases lead many of us to start off the new year with less money, and more regret, than we desire. Following up this period with a no-spend month can be an effective way to reduce debt or simply free up more money for the future. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)

With flu season coming up, many doctors are being asked when people should get their flu shot if they are also getting a COVID-19 booster shot. According to Dr. Shira Doron of Tufts Medical Center, the question is the most common one she’s been getting asked. “The answer is, whatever works for you,” Doron said. “There are no rules.” She told NBC Boston that the only thing to consider is that if you are getting your COVID-19 booster at the same time as your flu shot, they need to be administered at least one inch apart. "If you need to get them together that should be okay," Boston Medical Center's Dr. Davidson Hamer said. "You might just feel a little off for a day or two at most, but it's not a problem."

Protests broke out in Israel due to new restrictions to the Green Pass system that were issued on Sunday. The new restrictions will only allow people who have received a COVID-19 booster shot to use the nation’s Green Pass to enter indoor venues. Almost 2 million residents in the country will lose their Green Pass abilities with the new criteria, The Associated Press reported. The nation is the first one to make booster shots a requirement for their vaccination passport system. 

California is on its way to instate the first vaccine mandate for children in school in the U.S. According to Gov. Gavin Newsom, the mandate will go into effect in the state until the vaccine has been fully vetted for the 12 to 15 and 5 to 11 age groups, according to The Associated Press. The law in California already required that children have 10 immunizations in order to enroll in both public and private schools, however exceptions are made for medical reasons. According to Newsom, the COVID-19 vaccine requirement will have exemptions based on medical reasons, religious and personal beliefs. More than 6.7 million students will be affected by the mandate. 

At least seven people were killed in a hospital fire that broke out in an intensive care unit treating COVID-19 patients, Reuters reported. The fire marks the country’s third deadly hospital fire in less than a year's time; four COVID-19 patients died in a fire in February while 10 patients were killed in an ICU last November. "I am appalled at the tragedy," Romanian President Klaus Iohannis said. “It is a new terrible drama which confirms the lacking infrastructure of Romania's healthcare system, placed under unimaginable pressure by the fourth wave of the pandemic." More than 1,390 people in Romania are currently being treated in ICUs across the country, with bed space running out at hospitals. Over 10,800 new coronavirus cases were reported in Romania on Friday.

Health facilities are becoming overwhelmed across Syria as COVID-19 cases surge in the war-torn country. According to AFP, case levels have soared to "critical levels" across the country during the past several weeks. Some facilities are at maximum capacity. The escalating health crisis is currently worse in northern parts of Syria, locations that are not under government control. "From August to September the confirmed number of coronavirus cases in northwest Syria jumped by 144 percent to 71,715 as of 28 September with 1,151 deaths," the humanitarian organization Save the Children said, according to AFP. 

Finland is starting a whole new vaccination campaign that targets minks instead of people, YLE reported. The mink vaccine was developed by researchers at the University of Helsinki and is known as FurcoVac. "There were challenges in manufacturing the vaccines and acquiring the raw materials, as human vaccines were also being produced at the same time and they largely required the same raw materials that we used," said Jussi Peura, the research director for the vaccine. There have been no recorded infections among minks at farms in Finland, but millions of minks were killed at farms in other countries to prevent the spread of infection, as studies show the minks could transmit the virus back to humans. "We have enough vaccine doses to vaccinate all Finnish breeding mink twice. A booster vaccine will also be needed," Peura said.

The UK Health Security Agency announced Friday that England’s COVID-19 weekly reproduction “R” number is estimated between 0.8 and 1.1, making it less clear if case growth is shrinking, Reuters reported. Last week, the R number was estimated between 0.8 and 1.0. An R number range of 0.8 and 1.1 means that for every 10 people infected, they will infect between 8 and 11 other people. The estimated daily growth of infections also increased, with current estimates placing infection growth between -3% and 1%, meaning that the number of infections could again be growing.

The chair of Britain’s antivirals taskforce hinted toward the nation’s interest in buying the potentially breakthrough COVID-19 treatment molnupiravir, although he declined to make any direct comments around the experimental drug. “We are involved in looking closely at all of the options available, but we're really not in a position to give out the details around specific conversations at this moment in time," he said, according to Reuters. The statement comes after an interim clinical trial showed the drug reduced the chances of hospitalization or death in patients who were at risk of severe disease by around 50%. The results of the clinical trial were released on Thursday. 

Puerto Rico has vaccinated the largest share of its eligible adults and has the lowest rate of news cases compared to all 50 U.S. states, Yahoo News reported. Puerto Rico is approaching having 90% of its eligible population vaccinated, a rate that tops states like Vermont (88%) and Massachusetts (88%). Puerto Rico is also reporting just six new cases per day per every 100,000 residents, less than half as many as the lowest state on that list and a sixth of the nationwide average of 34 out of 100,000. The island’s relative geographic isolation likely helped cases stay low – the six U.S. states and territories with smaller or similar caseloads per capita to Puerto Rico, American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, Vermont, Hawaii, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Maine all are somewhat isolated. During Puerto Rico’s worst COVID wave, the island territory peaked at just 34 cases per 100,000 residents per day.

Louisiana has expanded its “Shot for $100” vaccine incentive program, which was originally just for college students, to include anyone in Louisiana, KATC News reported. Anyone, including minors, is eligible to receive $100 for getting their first shot, with the limited time offer ending on Oct. 30. “Louisiana has made considerable progress in increasing vaccinations across the state, but we need more people to go Sleeves Up to slow the spread of COVID-19," said Lousiana Gov. John Edwards. "By expanding the Shot for 100 campaign to everyone in Louisiana, we hope to see tens of thousands of additional people get their first dose of the safe and effective COVID vaccines, so we can end this pandemic once and for all.” More than 2.1 million Louisiana residents have been fully vaccinated so far, roughly 45% of the state’s population, according to Johns Hopkins University figures.

State health officials in Louisiana say that public schools can opt to let parents choose if their child quarantines or not following a coronavirus exposure, CNN reported. Schools will notify parents if their child had been in close contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19, but from there it is up to the parents to decide how they want to proceed. "We can no longer ignore the unintended academic consequences of our students unnecessarily missing school," Louisiana State Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley said. "This new, common-sense option empowers parents and local communities with the authority to make health-related decisions for their students."

Health experts warn that quarantines are effective, despite the frustration parents feel when their children miss school due to quarantine requirements. Louisiana’s Health Department told CNN that it was not consulted on the decision to remove the mandatory quarantine. "We strongly recommend that school districts follow public health guidance and parents quarantine unvaccinated children who may have been in close contact to someone with COVID,” said Mindy Faciane, a health department spokesperson. “Doing so is critical to slowing the spread and protecting children, families, school staff, and communities at large.” New Orleans Public schools, the second-largest district in the state, has already said it will not be changing its policy.

Gov. Gavin Newsom announced on Friday that California is adding the coronavirus vaccine to its list of vaccines required for school attendance, CNN reported. This mandates the vaccine for all students attending classes in person; unvaccinated students can take on an independent study. The vaccine requirement will be phased in and will start only once the Food and Drug Administration fully approves the vaccine. California expects the policy to apply to students in grades 7-12 by next July.

Almost all coronavirus restrictions have been lifted in the German states of North Rhine-Westphalia, Bavaria and Saarland, but officials are still concerned about a possible rise in cases, DW News reported. With infection numbers low and good progress made on local vaccination campaigns, officials opted to drop most restrictions. "The pandemic is not over yet and we will have to monitor further developments very closely," said North Rhine-Westphalia Health Minister Karl-Josef Laumann. "But the current number of infections and the progress made with vaccinations enable us to take further steps toward normalcy. At the same time, I appeal to citizens to continue to deal responsibly with the freedoms they have regained," Laumann added. Masks in North Rhine-Westphalia will no longer be compulsory outdoors and a cap will be lifted on event capacity. In Bavaria, clubs and discos are set to reopen after a year and a half of being closed.

The accounting firm Price Waterhouse Coopers is allowing all 40,000 of its client services employees in the U.S. to work remotely, which will allow them to live where they like, Reuters reported. Yolanda Seals-Coffield, the deputy people leader for PwC, told Reuters that the company was the first in its industry to allow full-time virtual work for client services employees. Those employees who choose to work remotely will still have to come into the office for a maximum of three days a month to attend important team meetings or learning sessions. "We have learned a ton through the pandemic, and working virtually, as we think about the evolution of flexibility, is a natural next step," Seals-Coffield said. "If you are an employee in good standing, are in client services, and want to work virtually, you can, full stop."

Australia is set to reopen its borders to international travel in November, a month ahead of schedule, Bloomberg reported. Under the new restrictions, fully vaccinated Australian citizens will be allowed to travel abroad again. “Australians and residents of Australia who are overseas who are fully vaccinated [will be] able to travel again,” Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said. Morrison also said that Australia will be working towards quarantine-free travel between certain countries, such as New Zealand. Watch the video below for more.

While cautioning that the pandemic is not yet over, health experts say that the U.S. may be turning the corner on the latest wave of COVID-19 infections, The Hill reported. With infections dropping, some experts believe that the U.S. is on the backend of a wave in cases driven by the highly contagious delta variant. But low vaccination rates in parts of the country and increased holiday travel threaten to drive regional surges of the virus. “Every time in the past that we’ve thought we were done and out of the woods, we’ve been wrong,”said David Dowdy, an epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. “I think that things are trending in the right direction, but it’s a little too early to declare victory.”

“Dancing with the Stars” contestant Cody Rigsby announced on Instagram that he tested positive for the coronavirus, CBS News reported. His positive test comes just days after his dance partner, Cheryl Burke, also tested positive for the virus. “While I am fully vaccinated and took many precautions, following CDC guidelines, I recently tested positive for COVID-19,” Rigby wrote. “To properly rest and recover as well as avoid exposing others, I will be taking a break in the coming days.” Neither Rigsby or Burke danced on Monday’s show, instead, the judges watched a taped version of their performance from a rehearsal.

Supreme Court justice Brett Kavanaugh has tested positive for COVID-19, CNN reported. According to a statement from the court, Kavanaugh’s positive test turned up after routine testing and Kavanaugh has no coronavirus symptoms.Justice Kavanaugh and his wife and daughters are all fully vaccinated. The justices last met together on Monday, before which all nine justices tested negative for COVID-19. Justice Kavanaugh’s positive test likely means he may not be able to be on the bench in person on Monday, which is the start of the Supreme Court’s new term.

A pill from drugmaker Merck significantly reduces coronavirus hospitalizations and deaths in those who take it, The Associated Press reported. According to data from Merck and its partner Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, the drug, called molnupiravir, cut hospitalizations and deaths by about half compared to those who received a placebo pill. Just 7.3% of the higher risk patients taking molnupiravir were hospitalized, compared to 14.1% who took the dummy pill. Additionally, no one in the drug group died, while eight died in the placebo group.

A pill-based treatment for COVID-19 could be a game changer, as the only drugs available to treat COVID-19 today are delivered intravenously. The Food and Drug Administration is set to receive data on the drug in the coming days, meaning the treatment could be approved and on the market in weeks. “It exceeded what I thought the drug might be able to do in this clinical trial,” said Dr. Dean Li, vice president of Merck Research Laboratories. “When you see a 50% reduction in hospitalization or death that’s a substantial clinical impact.”

Officials from the Premier League, one of the world’s most prestigious soccer leagues, announced this week that the clubs in its league that have the highest number of vaccinated players will be offered a special reward. The incentive, which has not been defined yet, was announced in a statement sent to clubs, which noted that only seven clubs in the league have over 50% of its athletes vaccinated, according to Sports Illustrated.

"We are considering if and how best we can 'reward' those squads/players who are most COVID-compliant and who have opted to be vaccinated,” officials said in the note.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is urging people who are pregnant to get vaccinated against COVID-19. According to NBC News, the newly-issued guidance is the strongest one the CDC has released yet involving the vaccination of pregnant people. According to the CDC, 161 people in the U.S. have died of COVID-19 while pregnant and 22,000 were hospitalized, but less than a third of pregnant people have been vaccinated in the country. “I strongly encourage those who are pregnant or considering pregnancy to talk with their health care provider about the protective benefits of the COVID-19 vaccine to keep their babies and themselves safe,” CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said in a statement.

New findings suggest that the coronavirus can change the function of cells in the pancreas, Reuters reported. According to researchers, once infected with the coronavirus, insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreases produce less insulin than usual and also begin to produce glucose and digestive enzymes, something they do not usually do. "We call this a change of cell fate," said study leader Dr. Shuibing Chen. It is unclear whether this effect is long-lasting or reversable, but Chen noted that some survivors of COVID-19 have developed diabetes after their infection, a finding that is “worth investigating.”

A proposed bill could require additional COVID-19 restrictions on travel ahead of the holiday season. The proposed legislation would require passengers on domestic flights in the U.S. to be either vaccinated, test negative or have fully recovered from COVID-19 previously, 6 ABC reported. The legislation was introduced by U.S. Senator Diane Feinstein of California. "We can't allow upcoming holiday air travel to contribute to another surge in COVID cases,” Feinstein said. 

With the coronavirus still dominating the headlines, U.S. health officials are urging people not to forget their flu shots, The Associated Press reported. Last winter, flu cases dropped to historically low levels and the Southern Hemisphere just exited its second flu season of the pandemic reporting few cases. But now, with businesses and schools largely reopened and lower levels of masking and social distancing, experts fear the flu could make a dramatic reappearance. With many Americans not having been exposed to influenza in more than a year, there is less immunity among the general population. “It makes absolute sense to go on out and get that vaccine and at least prepare for something that, you know, could be quite severe,” said Richard Webby, a flu specialist at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

As of this week, the Colombian coronavirus variant, known as mu or B.1.621., has been completely eradicated in the United States, data from Outbreak.info shows. The strain had originally struck fear for its perceived vaccine resistance, but its worldwide presence had decreased to account for just 0.5% of global infections. In the U.S., the mu variant accounted for 3% at its peak in mid-June, while a total of 8,557 total cases of it were detected since initial diagnosis.

A record number of new COVID-19 cases were reported in Melbourne, Australia, on Thursday, leading officials to blame those who illegally gathered in their homes to watch the Australian Rules Football Grand Final, Reuters reported. Authorities announced 1,438 new cases in Melbourne alone, noting that nearly a third could be traced to gatherings where people watched the soccer match. "Many of these cases were completely avoidable ... I'm not trying to blame anyone, I'm simply trying to explain because a lot of people will be scratching their heads - how could it have gone up by so much, so fast," state Premier Daniel Andrews said during a media briefing. Officials are working to vaccinate the nearly 5.5 million adults in the Australian state of Victoria, home to Melbourne. Roughly 50% of Victorians have been vaccinated so far, slightly below Australia’s national average of 53%.

At the age of 105, Primetta Giancopini, who survived the flu pandemic of 1918, died from the coronavirus, The Associated Press reported. Her daughter, Dorene Giacopini, believes that she would have lived longer if it were not for the coronavirus. “She was a fighter. She had a hard life and her attitude always was ... basically, all Americans who were not around for World War II were basically spoiled brats,” Dorene said. Primetta lost her mother at the age of 2 to the flu, escaped Italy during World War 2, and moved to the United States, grinding steel to support the war effort.

Giacopini, who was vaccinated, caught the coronavirus and developed pneumonia shortly after. Facing a tough decision, Dorene made the choice not to place her mother on a ventilator, with doctors telling her that the survival rate on a ventilator for those over 80 was low. "I'm reminding myself she was was 105. We always talk about ... my grandmother and mother, the only thing that could kill them was a worldwide pandemic,” Dorene said.

A record number of new COVID-19 cases were reported in Melbourne, Australia, on Thursday, leading officials to blame those who illegally gathered in their homes to watch the Australian Rules Football Grand Final, Reuters reported. Authorities announced 1,438 new cases in Melbourne alone, noting that nearly a third could be traced to gatherings where people watched the soccer match. "Many of these cases were completely avoidable ... I'm not trying to blame anyone, I'm simply trying to explain because a lot of people will be scratching their heads - how could it have gone up by so much, so fast," state Premier Daniel Andrews said during a media briefing. Officials are working to vaccinate the nearly 5.5 million adults in the Australian state of Victoria, home to Melbourne. Roughly 50% of Victorians have been vaccinated so far, slightly below Australia’s national average of 53%.

While the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics are scheduled to be played as normal, the International Olympic Committee announced on Wednesday that the event will be held without overseas spectators. Similar to the Tokyo Summer Olympics, fans will be barred from almost all venues due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Beijing residents told AFP that they support the ban, as they are hoping the Games do not spark a surge in cases like with what Tokyo had to deal with.

“I think it’s the right thing to do because the overseas audience can watch the live broadcast,” one man said. “But if there are a lot of people traveling, it’s not safe for both the athletes and the foreign guests.”

For more reactions from Beijing residents, watch the video below.

After initially mandating COVID-19 vaccinations for NOLA Public Schools staffers in August, the school district has relaxed its timeline for teachers, administrators and support staff to receive those jabs in the wake of Hurricane Ida. The district’s original mandate required staffers to be fully vaccinated by Sept. 30, but spokesperson Taslin Alfonzo said the two-week disruption from the major hurricane has altered that timeline, The Lens reported. No new timeline has been established, although district officials had been strongly encouraging students to receive a negative test before returning to school from the hurricane closures.

“Given the two-week disruption caused by Hurricane Ida and schools working diligently to create a routine and stable environment for their students and staff, NOLA Public Schools is giving schools and its central office staff more time to report their vaccination rates/status,” Alfonzo told The Lens in an email.

Broadway fans will have to wait a little longer to go over, sideways and under on a magic carpet ride. Just one day after the first performance of “Aladdin,” the Broadway production announced that due to breakthrough COVID-19 cases within the company, the Wednesday performance of the show would be canceled, ABC7 News New York reported. The show is the first COVID-19 related cancelation on Broadway since shows in the theatre resumed in July. “The wellness and safety of our guests, cast, and crew are our top priority,” the company said in a statement shared on Twitter.

Over 123,000 new coronavirus cases and 2,531 coronavirus deaths were reported in the United States on Wednesday, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University. Roughly 2 million tests were conducted, dropping the positivity ratio down to 6.77%. More than 840,000 new vaccine doses were administered, bringing the total number of doses administered in the U.S. up to 184 million, with 56% of the U.S. population fully vaccinated. Globally, the U.S. continues to report the highest number of new cases, with the United Kingdom, the Philippines, and India trailing by just under 100,000 cases. Watch the video below for more.

Many employers in Zimbabwe, including the nation’s government, are mandating COVID-19 vaccine shots for their staff. However, The Associated Press reports critics say that unlike in richer countries that have used mandates, Zimbabwe’s vaccine rollout wouldn’t be up to the demand. While Zimbabwe says it has plenty of doses for now, vaccine centers sometimes run out of supply, and poorer townships and rural areas have hardly seen access to doses over recent months. “The Zimbabwe government should first focus on making sure that vaccines are equally available to all people without any obstacles before considering making them mandatory,” Dewa Mavhinga, Southern Africa director for Human Rights Watch, told the AP. The Zimbabwean government already requires vaccines at places of worship and has suggested extending the mandates to public buses, which serve as a critical mode of transportation. Access to informal markets could also be restricted.

Unions representing American and Southwest airline pilots are asking lawyers and the White House for an exemption or an alternative to the federal mandate requiring companies with over 100 employees to get vaccinated, ABC News reported. While Southwest’s pilot union was unable to say how many of its members were unvaccinated, roughly 30% of American Airline pilots are not vaccinated, according to the Allied Pilots Association. In a letter to more than 15 people at the Department of Transportation, White House and Congress, union president Captain Eric Ferguson wrote that some of the APA’s members were unable to be vaccinated due to documented medical reasons while others were reluctant to get the jab “based upon concerns about the potential for career-ending side effects.”

CDC numbers show there have been more than 200 million doses of vaccine administered across the U.S., and serious safety problems are very uncommon, not to mention that the potential benefits of the vaccine outweigh the known and potential risks of getting COVID-19, which could also potentially end a pilot’s career. Ferguson also wrote that they were concerned the 60-day-timeline for the implementation of the mandate could result in labor shortages. “Airlines generate a substantial portion of their annual revenue during the holiday period, with a great many travelers depending on us to get them to their destinations,” Ferguson wrote. “Our nation’s airlines, and the traveling public, cannot afford significant service disruptions due to labor shortages.”

While the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths have cycled through waves nationally, an analysis of Health and Human Services data by NBC News shows 20 hospitals nationwide had full ICUs for 52 weeks or more since the beginning of the pandemic. The data shows that some of the hardest-hit hospitals have been at or over capacity for 59 weeks, and hospitals in the South and Southwest appeared to be experiencing the heaviest strain on hospitals. 

Out of the 100 intensive care units that have spent the most weeks at or above patient capacity, spanning from July 2020 to Sept. 23, 2021, Texas holds the most in the nation at 17. California holds 13, Florida 10, Alabama seven and both Kentucky and Georgia hold six, respectively. Other states hold no more than five hospitals. “The strain that health care workers are under is unbelievable,” Cindy Zolnierek, CEO of the Texas Nurses Association told NBC News. “And it’s not ending. It’s been a year and a half now. After the vaccine, everyone was feeling, ‘Oh my gosh, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.’ And then the delta variant came, and it kind of feels like this never-ending nightmare.”

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey and state officials are moving ahead with a plan to pay for parts of a massive new prison construction project with money from the American Rescue Plan, pandemic relief funds that were given to the state last year. The construction project, which involves the building of three new prisons, has faced sharp backlash from critics who argue that the state is misusing its funds, The Associated Press reported. Jerrold Nadler, U.S. House Judiciary Committee Chairman from New York, has made a request to Janet Yellen, Treasury Department Secretary, to prevent Alabama’s use of the funds for the prisons.

“Directing funding meant to protect our citizens from a pandemic to fuel mass incarceration is, in direct contravention of the intended purposes of the ARP legislation," Nadler wrote.

Recent executive orders issued in San Francisco and New York City could turn out to be problematic for unvaccinated NBA players. Players scheduled to play at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan or Brooklyn's Barclays Center will need to get at least one COVID-19 shot. To play in San Francisco's Chase Center, they must be fully vaccinated, ESPN reported. Players who do not comply with the vaccine mandates in those cities could end up losing part of their salary. "Any player who elects not to comply with local vaccination mandates will not be paid for games that he misses," Mike Bass, the NBA's executive vice president of communications, said Wednesday according to ESPN.

YouTube announced on Wednesday that it would be wiping all videos containing misinformation and conspiracy theories regarding COVID-19 vaccines. According to a blog post from the company, the new rules prohibit misinformation against vaccines that have been approved by the World Health Organization. The world’s largest video platform added that the rules also apply to false claims about other vaccines, such as for the flu or measles.

“We’ve steadily seen false claims about the coronavirus vaccines spill over into misinformation about vaccines in general, and we’re now at a point where it’s more important than ever to expand the work we started with COVID-19 to other vaccines,” YouTube said in a prepared statement.

Newly reported infections skyrocketed in Auckland, New Zealand, on Wednesday, as 45 new cases were reported amid the current outbreak. On Tuesday, that increase was just eight cases. The country’s current outbreak features 1,230 total infections, at least 33 of which are from household or close contact with an existing case. The news is notable for the country that previously eliminated the coronavirus entirely in 2020 and had remained virus-free until August, when an outbreak of delta cases led to a nationwide lockdown, Reuters reported.

"Delta is here, it may not be possible to eliminate it, and it would almost inevitably arrive into the community again. Whatever happens, we need to reopen to the world and National’s plan outlines how we can do that," National Party leader Judith Collins said.

Married couple Cal and Linda Dunham died holding hands on Monday, both succumbing to COVID-19 within one minute of each other. According to the couple’s daughter, Sarah, the 59-year-old father and the 66-year-old mother were fully vaccinated but began to feel sick after a family camping trip, the Washington Examiner reported. Each had pre-existing health conditions. After being hospitalized and placed on ventilators, doctors told the couple that there was nothing they could do, so the husband and wife were taken off of life-support and wheeled next to each other. Cal died at 11:07 a.m. while Linda died at 11:08 a.m., fulfilling a joking promise Sarah said her mother made.

“She always joked and said, ‘Well, you’re going to go before I am. I’ll be right there behind you. I promise,'" Dunham said of her mother. "She really was, like she really was right there behind him.”

A new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that the side effects from a third dose of a COVID-19 vaccine are mild or moderate and occur as often as after shot two, AFP reported. The findings are expected to reassure the public about any misgivings about a booster shot.

"The frequency and type of side effects were similar to those seen after the second vaccine doses, and were mostly mild or moderate and short lived," CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said at a press briefing.

Currently, third dose booster shots are authorized for the immunocompromised population, which includes citizens over the age of 65 and those with underlying medical conditions.

Company officials from United Airlines announced on Tuesday that 593 workers were dismissed for refusing to get vaccinated against COVID-19, while another 2,000 employees requested medical or religious exemptions, AFP reported. Chief Executive Scott Kirby and President Brett Hart said over 99% of the remaining staff complied with the company requirement to get vaccinated, which was mandated in early August.

"This is a historic achievement for our airline and our employees as well as for the customers and communities we serve," the company’s memo. "Our rationale for requiring the vaccine for all United's US-based employees was simple –- to keep our people safe –- and the truth is this: everyone is safer when everyone is vaccinated, and vaccine requirements work."

The United States coronavirus positivity rate dipped below 7% on Wednesday, an encouraging sign for the nation that is starting to see its weekly case loads decline. According to the latest figures from Johns Hopkins University, over 2,500 new COVID-19 fatalities were recorded in the U.S. on Tuesday while 111,162 new infections were reported. Outside of the U.S., the country with the largest new case increase was the United Kingdom, which reported 34,847 new infections as the delta variant continues to wreak havoc. For a broader look at the data from around the world, watch the video below.

Over one in 10 English secondary school students and more than a third of staff that have been infected with the coronavirus are seeing long COVID symptoms, Sky News reported. The Office of National Statistics says that 12.3% of students and 35.7% of staff have seen coronavirus symptoms last more than a month. About 9.4% of students and 15.5% of staff say that their daily lives have been significantly altered by the disease. "These findings again reinforce the importance of the COVID vaccination programme, including 12 to 15-year-olds, in helping to reduce the spread of the coronavirus in schools and colleges,” said Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders.

The Missouri Department of Conservation is planning to test hundreds of wild deer for COVID-19 this hunting season, The Associated Press reported. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, samples of white-tailed deer in Illinois, Michigan, New York and Pennsylvania showed that at least 7% of the population had coronavirus antibodies. In Michigan, the number was drastically higher, with 67% of the white-tailed deer population having antibodies. According to the report, none of the deer were reportedly ill with the virus, despite having antibodies. There is also no evidence any deer have died from the virus or that humans who have eaten deer contracted the virus from doing so. “We want to be proactive,” Jasmine Batten, wildlife health program supervisor for the Missouri Department of Conservation, said. “We’re paying attention to other states, and this is the first step to see what’s going on in our state.”

A veteran Washington State Patrol trooper died after contracting COVID-19 on the job. According to The Seattle Times, Trooper Eric Gunderson, 38, led the state patrol’s investigation into the derailment of an Amtrak train in 2017. According to Washington State Patrol Chief John Batiste, Gunderson is the 32nd trooper to die in the line of duty since the formation of the agency 100 years ago. “Eric Gunderson was a respected trooper and public servant,” Batiste said. “But serving the public, as we do, has inherent dangers and this pandemic has been a foe to our agency and indeed our state and nation.” 

Cuba has begun sending shipments of its homegrown three-dose Abdala vaccine to Vietnam and Venezuela, The Associated Press reported. Vietnam has ordered more than 5 million doses and received more than 1 million doses of the vaccine on Sunday, 150,000 of which were donated by Cuba. Venezuela has bought at least $12 million worth of Cuba’s vaccine. Cuba has asked the World Health Organization to approve its vaccines, something that many countries require before they file purchase orders. Cuban scientists say that the Abdala vaccine is more than 90% effective against illness, but less effective against infection, as are all the currently available vaccines.

Yemen’s top diplomat said his country needs millions more vaccine doses to ensure that some of the world’s most poor are not left vulnerable, The Associated Press reported. Ahmed Awad Bin Mubarak said that the 1 million doses that have been appropriated so far are not sufficient. “These amounts are still not enough to cover the targeted groups,” Bin Mubarak said. “We hope that the donating countries will contribute to increasing the number of vaccines so that no one is left behind.” Yemen’s 30 million people face a multitude of crises, including war, hunger, poverty and limited access to health care. Just 7,780 coronavirus cases have been reported in Yemen, but testing has been scarce and the actual toll is believed to be much higher.

The launch of the United States’ booster shot campaign has not narrowed the differences in views between the vaccinated and the unvaccinated, CNBC reported. While nearly 80% of the vaccinated respondents to a survey released by the Kaiser Family Foundation see the booster shots as a good sign, 71% of the unvaccinated respondents see the boosters as showing the vaccines are not working as promised. “We have seen for sure that the vaccinated and unvaccinated have viewed the pandemic very differently,” said Liz Hamel, the Kaiser Family Foundation’s director of survey research and public opinion. “It’s not really surprising to me that they view the conversation around booster shots differently.” The unvaccinated are most likely to believe the pandemic’s severity is exaggerated and are generally less worried about getting sick. Read the complete results of the survey here.

Alaska has the country’s worst COVID-19 case rate and is now reporting one of the country’s highest rates of reported deaths, the Anchorage Daily News reported. Alaska reported 7.9 deaths per 100,000 over the past week, according to the Centers for Disease Control – only West Virginia reported a worse rate at 8.5 per 100,000. An additional 21 deaths were reported Monday. The delta variant and low vaccination rates in the state are driving a surge of infections that is challenging the state’s medical facilities, especially in rural communities. Hospitals in the state have been authorized to enact crisis standard of care, which allow hospitals to ration care, if necessary.

With 852 coronavirus deaths recorded in the last 24 hours, Russia has again broken its daily COVID-19 death toll record, CNN reported. The record was last surpassed four days ago when 828 deaths were reported. Russia has developed several homegrown vaccines, but a vast majority of the population remains unvaccinated, with just over 25% of Russians having received the vaccine. With so much of the population unprotected from the virus, the head of Russia’s public health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor, Anna Popova, says it will be difficult to determine when case growth will slow. Russia has reported more than 7.3 million total coronavirus cases and this week topped 201,000 fatalities since the pandemic began, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University.

NBA Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar says NBA teams should remove unvaccinated players from their roster. "The NBA should insist that all players and staff are vaccinated or remove them from the team," Abdul-Jabbar said, according to NPR. Abdul-Jabbar made his remarks in a recently published issue of Rolling Stone. "There is no room for players who are willing to risk the health and lives of their teammates, the staff and the fans simply because they are unable to grasp the seriousness of the situation or do the necessary research," the Lakers great said. The new NBA season is weeks away from starting, and the NBA will not enforce a vaccine mandate on players this year. About 90% of the league's players are currently vaccinated, NPR reported, citing multiple media outlets.

FILE - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar arrives at the ESPY Awards in Los Angeles, in this July 18, 2018, file photo. (Photo by Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP, File)

(Photo by Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP, File)

A judge ruled Monday that all those employed in California’s prison system, including guards, must either be vaccinated against COVID-19 or present a valid religious or medical exemption, The Washington Post reported. The prison guard’s union has already warned that it may attempt to appeal the ruling. “Once the virus enters a facility, it is very difficult to contain, and the dominant route by which it enters a prison is through infected staff,” said U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar. “All agree that a mandatory staff vaccination policy would lower the risk of preventable death and serious medical consequences among incarcerated persons.”

Pfizer and BioNTech have submitted data to the Food and Drug Administration showing a “robust” immune system response and “favorable” safety outcomes in children ages five to 11, NPR reported. The companies plan to ask for emergency use authorization of the vaccine for that age group in the coming weeks. The vaccine trial, which included 2,268 participants, had children receive a smaller vaccine dosage than adults, a dose size that was “carefully selected as the preferred dose for safety, tolerability and immunogenicity," the companies said. The companies are also holding trials for kids younger than five, who are receiving 3-microgram doses. Pfizer and BioNTech expect to have data on vaccine efficacy in kids as young as six months old by the end of the year.

New South Wales state Premier Gladys Berejiklian warned that unvaccinated residents of Sydney may be barred from social activities even after stay-at-home orders end in December, Reuters reported. While vaccinated residents will slowly regain freedoms between Oct. 11 and Dec. 1, unvaccinated residents will get these on a delay, with Berejiklian warning that shops, restaurants and entertainment venues may continue to ban unvaccinated people even after the government lifts restrictions. "A lot of businesses have said they will not accept anyone who is unvaccinated," Berejiklian told Seven News on Tuesday. "Life for the unvaccinated will be very difficult indefinitely." Sydney’s phased reopening begins on Oct. 11, when gyms, hairdressers, pubs and cafes will open to the fully vaccinated.

Of the nearly 30% of adults COVID-19 patients that face long-term systems, 70% suffer damage to vital organs like the heart or liver, Bloomberg reported. While COVID-19 is predominately thought of as a respiratory disease, it also can attack the body's organs and cause neurological impacts. “A decent number of people who have had COVID, not necessarily severe in the acute phase, go on to develop multisystem inflammation affecting a variety of organs,” said Rajarshi Banerjee, the CEO of biotechnology company Perspectum. “These patients are severely debilitated and can suffer from fatigue, brain fog, heart disease and lung disease.” Watch the video below for more.

Reversing a ruling made over the weekend, a federal appeals court ruled that New York City’s vaccine mandate for nearly all public school employees can proceed, The New York Times reported. Originally, the mandate would have gone into effect at midnight on Sept. 27, but Mayor Bill de Blasio extended the deadline to the morning of Oct. 4. De Blasio said Monday that approximately 97% of principals and roughly 95% of teachers are vaccinated, with 87 percent of non-teaching public school staff having received at least one dose. Union leaders have called on the mayor to delay the mandate further to allow schools to prepare for staffing shortages that could emerge if the unvaccinated continue to choose not to get the shot.

Over 2,300 new deaths and more than 185,000 new coronavirus cases were reported on Monday, according to Johns Hopkins University figures. Around 4 million tests were also reported, dropping the positivity ratio down to 7.01%. The United States leads the world in new infections by a significant margin, reporting nearly five times as many new cases on Monday than the next highest country, the United Kingdom. Slow progress continues to be made on vaccinations, with just 550,000 new inoculations reported. Watch the video below for more.

A survey from Bankrate.com found that 42% of adults with credit card debt added additional debt during the pandemic, 47% of whom say the pandemic directly caused the new debt, CNBC reported. The additional debt is one of many financial challenges individuals and families have faced during the pandemic. “It does go to show how widespread and persistent of a problem credit card debt can be,” said Ted Rossman, senior industry analyst at Bankrate.com. However, many Americans have been able to decrease their debts, with the latest Federal Reserve data showing credit card balances significantly down. Still, the Bankrate.com survey shows that debt relief has not been equitable. “[Credit card debt] does tend to be a long-term systemic kind of thing,” Rossman said.

Dozens of police officers in a Massachusetts police union have resigned following a vaccine mandate that was issued for state workers. The mandate requires that workers provide proof of vaccination by Oct. 17. A lawsuit filed by the union was recently thrown out by a judge that attempted to delay the mandate, Fox News reported. "Throughout COVID, we have been on the front lines protecting the citizens of Massachusetts and beyond. Simply put, all we are asking for are the same basic accommodations that countless other departments have provided to their first responders, and to treat a COVID-related illness as a line of duty injury,” Michael Cherven, president of the State Police Association of Massachusetts, said.

Kyrie Irving, a star guard for the Brooklyn Nets, was not at the team's media day on Monday due to New York City's COVID-19 protocols, ESPN reported. In August, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio issued an executive order that required pro athletes living in the city that practice or play indoors to get at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine. The Nets are holding training camp in San Diego this week and Irving was expected to join the team on the trip to California. Irving spoke to reporters over Zoom Monday and requested privacy about the matter, ESPN reported. 

"I know that I'll be there every day no matter what and just be present for my teammates as one of the leaders on the team and be there for my growing tribe off the court," Irving said. "I know the focus has to be at an all-time high, no distractions. This is the last thing I wanted to create, was more distractions and more hoopla and more drama around this. I'm doing my best to maintain this with good intentions and a good heart."

U.S. Rep. Kelly Armstrong announced over Twitter that after feeling under the weather, he has tested positive for COVID-19, The Associated Press reported. Armstrong, 44, says he has been vaccinated. “I have been fully vaccinated since January, and I am taking all precautions and recovering at home in North Dakota. I have been advised by my doctor to quarantine for ten days,” Armstrong wrote. Armstrong will be casting his votes this week by proxy as Capitol Hill readies itself for a busy week of legislation. “Unfortunately, I am not going to be able to be in D.C. next week,” Armstrong wrote. “However, the votes we are taking are simply too important to miss, so I have reached out to friends in Congress and I will be casting my votes by proxy.”

The United States’ new rules on foreign travelers, which require noncitizens entering the county to be vaccinated by shots approved by the U.S. or the World Health Organization, will shut out millions of people who consider themselves fully vaccinated, including those who received Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine, The Washington Post reported. Roughly 300,000 Russians visited the U.S. in 2019, meaning hundreds of thousands of travelers may be prohibited from entering the country. The Russian Direct Investment Fund, the sovereign wealth fund that backed Sputnik V, said that the vaccine’s “efficacy and safety have been confirmed both during clinical trials and over the course of real-world use in a number of countries.” More than 4 billion people live in countries where Sputnik V has been approved. India’s Covaxin shot has also not been approved in the U.S. or by the WHO, with more than 560 million doses administered, mostly in India.

The new head coach of the Boston Celtics, Ime Udoka, has tested positive for COVID-19 despite being fully vaccinated, ESPN reported. Udoka has been asymptomatic and is on the last day of his quarantine, according to a Celtics spokesperson. The end of Udoka’s quarantine coincides with the start of training camp, where Udoka is expected to be with the team in person. TD Garden, the home of the Boston Celtics, will require attendees to display proof of vaccination or a negative test to attend Celtics games, NBC Boston reported.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Wolensky admits there is some confusion over who should get a booster, Fox 5 News reported. Last week, CDC advisers approved booster doses six months after the last dose for those 65 and older, nursing home residents and people 50 to 64 with chronic health problems. But, booster doses are currently only available for those who received the Pfizer vaccine, meaning those who received the Moderna or the Johnson & Johnson vaccines must wait for further guidance.

Walenksy also overrode the objections of her advisers and approved boosters for those whose lives place them at an increased risk of infection, including those like teachers, health care workers and people living in jails or homeless shelters. "I recognize that confusion right now," Walensky told CBS’ Face the Nation. “We are meeting every several weeks now to evaluate the science. The science may very well show that the rest of the population needs to be boosted and we will provide those guidances as soon as we have the science to inform them."

Professional dancer Cheryl Burke announced on Instagram that she tested positive for the coronavirus, Yahoo News reported. Burke, who is fully vaccinated, dances on “Dancing with the Stars” and is currently paired with Peloton instructor Cody Rigsby. "I feel so bad for Cody. I feel like I'm letting him down. And it's so overwhelming because it's Sunday, and the show's tomorrow," Burke said, adding that she hopes she didn’t spread the disease to others. Data continues to show that breakthrough infections are rare, with a study of one million people in the United Kingdom finding that less than 0.2% of participants reported a breakthrough infection.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga says his government will formally decide Tuesday whether to lift the COVID-19 state of emergency that currently covers Tokyo and 18 other prefectures, Kyodo News reported. At least one prefecture has been placed under a state of emergency or quasi-state of emergency since April 4. According to a source familiar with the discussions, the Japanese government is expected to lift the states of emergency. "We must continue to be highly cautious and need to ease restrictions gradually, including for dining," said Suga. In areas where the state of emergency will be lifted, the government will allow restaurants to close at 9:00 pm and the serving of alcohol will be permitted, as well as raise the cap for sporting event spectators to 10,000.

A federal appeals court has temporarily blocked New York City schools from enforcing a vaccine mandate for public schools only days before it was scheduled to go into effect.The mandate was set to go into affect Monday, but on Friday a judge for the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted a temporary injunction. The case has been referred to a three-judge panel on an expedited basis. A hearing is now set for Wednesday at 10 a.m. Department of Education spokesperson Danielle Filson told the Associated Press more than 82% of department employees in the nation's largest school system have already been vaccinated. "We're confident our vaccine mandate will continue to be upheld once all the facts have been presented, because that is the level of protection our students and staff deserve," Filson said.

Singer Kelly Price, whose family reported her missing after being released from the hospital following a severe bout of COVID-19, revealed she almost died fighting the disease, CNN reported. In an interview with TMZ, Price said she was clinically dead for a time while fighting the disease. "At some point they lost me," she said. "I woke up some days later, a couple days later, and the first thing I remember is the team of doctors standing around me and asking me if I knew what year it was." Price has not revealed if she was vaccinated. Addressing rumors that she was missing, Price’s attorney said that Price was never missing, but just privately recuperating.

President Joe Biden rolled his sleeves up in front of the gathered cameras to get his booster shot, The Washington Post reported. Biden, who received the Pfizer vaccine more than six months ago and is over the age of 65, is eligible for a booster dose. "I know it doesn't look like it, but I am over 65 — way over," Biden said. "Boosters are important, but the most important thing we need to do is to get more people vaccinated." While receiving the third dose in front of a group of reporters, Biden gave a statement and took questions from the journalists in attendance. More than 20 million Americans are currently eligible for a third Pfizer dose.

Joining other drug makers racing to develop an antiviral medication for COVID-19, Pfizer has announced a large study testing its oral antiviral drug, Reuters reported. Pfizer’s drug will be tested in 2,600 adults who live in the same household as someone who is symptomatic with COVID-19. If the treatment is effective, it will help prevent COVID-19 infections among those exposed to the virus. The drug is designed to block a key enzyme which helps multiply the coronavirus. Currently, remedisvir — which is taken intravenously — is the only approved antiviral coronavirus treatment.

Celebrations marking the end of Norway’s coronavirus restrictions turned rowdy, with police being called to numerous disturbances in the country’s largest cities, The Associated Press reported. Norway ended all its pandemic restrictions beginning Saturday, returning to a state of normalcy. Throughout the weekend, police were called to violent clashes as people packed bars, nightclubs and restaurants in cities like Oslo.“That’s exactly what I predicted would happen,” nightclub manager Johan Hoeeg Haanes told Norwegian newspaper VG. “It was a life-threatening situation in the city because [the government] didn’t give us at least a few days advance notice. This was a dangerous situation, as police said all places were packed.” According to a police spokesperson, the police in Oslo faced a “significantly greater workload” on Saturday than they did over the summer.

Pfizer plans to submit data on the effectiveness of its vaccine in kids ages 5 to 11 to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the next few days, CNN reported. With schools returning to in-person learning this fall, nearly 26% of cases reported nationwide are in kids, with an average of 266 kids hospitalized every day last week. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky says the CDC will expeditiously review the new vaccine data. "As soon as they get submitted to the [Food and Drug Administration], I know the FDA is urgently planning to review these data, it will go from the FDA to the CDC, and we will review it with similar urgency," Walensky said, adding that she believed the approval process would take weeks, not months.

In an interview on ABC's Good Morning America, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky defended the use of vaccine mandates in hospitals. According to Good Morning America, an estimated 72,000 health care workers in New York State have held out on getting vaccinated, with the governor weighing bringing in the National Guard to compensate for workers who will be terminated if they do not get the shot. “It absolutely creates a challenge,” Walensky said. “What I would say is [we need] to do some work to educate these health workers, to understand where their hesitancy is so we can get them vaccinated and get them back to work." Watch the video below for more.

With more than 740,000 new vaccine doses administered on Sunday, the percentage of Americans fully vaccinated sits at 56%, according to Johns Hopkins University figures. On Sunday, just over 30,000 new cases and 286 deaths were recorded, though many states do not report new data over the weekend. The national positivity ratio, a measure of the percentage of tests that return a positive test result, currently sits at 7.6%. Watch the video below for more.

The son of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, along with two members of his cabinet, have tested positive for the coronavirus, Reuters reported. Multiple close aides of Bolsonaro have tested positive since the leader’s trip to the United Nations, including Bolsonaro’s son, a congressman, Agriculture Minister Tereza Cristina and Solicitor General Bruno Bianco. Bolsonaro, a public vaccine skeptic who says he has not gotten vaccinated, returned to Brazil to isolate after Health Minister Marcelo Queiroga, who was in Bolsanaro’s delegation, also tested positive.

Belgium has donated more than 150,000 vaccines to Uganda, which will go towards vaccinating teachers to help reopen the African country’s schools, Africanews reported. Uganda issued an official request to the European Union to help vaccinate the country’s teachers, more than 162,000 of which need a second dose and 100,000 of which still need a first. Belgium’s donation arrived on Wednesday, and the doses will quickly be administered to teachers across the country. “By vaccinating teachers we contribute to providing renewed access to education for as many children, youngsters and students in Uganda, as quickly as possible,” said Meryame Kitir, the Belgian Minister of Development Cooperation. Schools in Uganda have been closed for almost 18 months, with distance learning in the country greatly limited by a lack of internet connection.

The World Health Organization announced its support on Friday for the use of monoclonal antibody treatment. The treatment is for those infected by COVID-19, but unable to produce their own antibodies, The New York Times reported. The remedy works by infusing lab-made copies of the antibodies, a treatment that was used when treating former President Donald Trump when he was infected last year. According to data from the WHO, the treatment method is shown to lower the likelihood death or being put on a ventilator. The WHO also made a public request on Friday for the treatment manufacturers, Regeneron and Roche, to reduce the price and increase the availability of the therapy.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul may employ members of the National Guard who have medical training, as well as out-of-state medical workers, to help fill hospital staffing shortages, Reuters reported. Tens of thousands of employees in the state's hospital system could reportedly lose their jobs starting Monday if they don't meet a COVID-19 vaccination mandate. About 72,000 hospital workers have not been fully vaccinated in the state.

Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla speaks at a Pfizer manufacturing site, Friday, Feb. 19, 2021, in Portage, Mich. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

With booster shots likely on the way and vaccines expected to be approved for younger children, U.S. health authorities say that they have plenty of vaccines to meet an uptick in demand, The Associated Press reported. The U.S. currently has more than 40 million doses available, and more than 70 million Americans remain unvaccinated, according to the AP. One challenge states face is ordering the right amount of vaccines so they don't have to throw out doses, which has happened throughout the past year. Once a vaccine vial is opened, the vaccine is only usable for about six to 12 hours, the AP. For more on the vaccination effort in the U.S. and around the world, watch the video below.

During an appearance on ABC's This Week, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said Sunday that a return to normal life is likely within a year, but he warned that a return to normalcy will come with caveats, according to CNBC. “I don’t think that this means that the variants will not continue coming, and I don’t think that this means that we should be able to live our lives without having vaccinations,” Bourla said. “But that, again, remains to be seen.”

Bourla said during his interview that he thought that annual COVID-19 vaccines would be needed to help make a return to normal life happen. “The most likely scenario for me is that, because the virus is spread all over the world, that it will continue seeing new variants that are coming out,” Bourla said. “Also we will have vaccines that they will last at least a year, and I think the most likely scenario is annual vaccination, but we don’t know really, we need to wait and see the data.”

In remote Himalayan villages, Indian health workers are scaling mountains to deliver coronavirus vaccines to the local populations, Reuters reported. To get to the village of Malana, workers had to scramble over a rockslide, climb a retaining wall and hike through a river valley. Despite these obstacles, the state of Himachal Pradesh, where Malana is located, has given at least one dose to all of its adults. "People were initially scared to take the vaccine, worried they would fall sick or die," said village head Rajuram, who gave just one name. "Then I took it and others also mustered the courage." India’s goal is to vaccinate nearly all of its adult population by December; it has currently administered at least one shot to about 66% of its adult population. Watch the video below for more.

A new sign of a recovering U.S. economy emerged on Friday, as the Commerce Department shared that new home sales increased 1.5% in August, more than expected. According to the department, the increase led to a seasonally adjusted rate of 740,000 units in August, surpassing the forecast rate of 714,000 units, Reuters reported.

This marks the second consecutive month that new home sales rose, a positive sign for homebuilders that are recovering from pandemic-induced problems. According to Zillow, home prices nationwide are growing at a record annual pace, although concerns such as building material supply chain issues and labor shortages continue to provide hurdles.

Jeffrey Newman and his husband Jayson Conner, both advocates for the homeless, are working to fight vaccine misinformation among the vulnerable homeless population, NBC News reported. Many homeless individuals are enthusiastic about taking up backpacks full of supplies like hand sanitizer, masks, and socks, but less willing to get their vaccine. “There’s a lot of misinformation out there, a lot of confusion about vaccines, and trying to conquer that is a task unto itself,” Newman said. Roughly 62% of New York City’s adults are fully vaccinated, but just 19% of homeless adults are, despite free walk-in clinics and mobile vaccine distribution centers. At least 113 homeless people have died from COVID-19, though the actual number could be much higher. To incentivize the homeless to get vaccines, Newman and Conner have given out gift cards and have offered to drive them to walk-in centers.

Once a coronavirus booster dose is fully approved, President Joe Biden will receive the jab on camera, Axios reported. Biden has been an advocate of approving booster shots in the United States, despite disapproval from the World Health Organization and some vaccine experts who believe not everyone needs a shot. On Thursday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention authorized boosters for a subset of the population, including health-care workers, those older than 65, and those 50 to 64 with underlying health problems, The Associated Press reported. When coronavirus shots first became available, Biden received his first dose, a Pfizer jab, on television.

Portugal is on track to fully vaccinate 85% of its population in nine months, and a lot of the credit is going to Rear Adm. Henrique Gouveia e Melo, The Associated Press reported. Gouveia e Melo, a naval officer, took charge of the highly-successful vaccine rollout in Portugal, which has seen infections and hospitalizations in the country drop to their lowest levels in 18 months despite the delta variant. Gouveia e Melo is quick to give others credit for their role in the successful vaccination campaign. “People in the military are used to working under stress in uncertain environments,” he said. “They’re organized, have a good logistics set-up ... and are usually very focused on the mission.” Gouveia e Melo likened the pandemic to a war and wore his combat fatigues whenever he made public appearances. “We’ve won a battle,” he says. “I don’t know if we’ve won the war against the virus. This is a world war.”

Golden State Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins has decided against getting the COVID-19 vaccine, which means his availability for the upcoming season could be affected, ESPN reported. San Francisco is requiring proof of vaccination for people to attend large indoor events. Wiggins said earlier this year that he would only get the vaccine if forced to do so. An ESPN report from last week said that the NBA will not mandate that players get vaccinated this season. "To each his own, really. Whoever wants to get it, can get it; whoever doesn't want to get it, don't get it," Wiggins said in March. "Right now, I'm not getting it, but it's no knock on anyone else that's getting it. I make my own decisions. But right now, I decided not to get it." The San Francisco Chronicle reported that the Warriors had a doctor consult with Wiggins about his hesitancy to get the vaccine, but Wiggins still did not change his stance.

The Baltimore Ravens are all too familiar with players missing games due to COVID-19. Last season, an outbreak on the team forced many key players to miss a highly-anticipated matchup with the Pittsburgh Steelers, including former MVP Lamar Jackson. While the Ravens won’t be playing against their division rivals this weekend, several players could miss Sunday’s matchup due to the virus. On Friday, the Ravens placed four players on the reserve/COVID-19 list, NFL.com reported. This includes tackles Brandon Williams and Justin Madubuike and edge rushers Justin Houston and Jaylon Ferguson. Even if the players are fully vaccinated, they need to test negative twice in a 24-hour span to return to the lineup. With kickoff against the Detroit Lions slated for 1 p.m. EDT Sunday, the window is quickly closing for the players to be eligible to suit up for the third game of the regular season.

The ratio of positive COVID-19 test among all tests conducted continues to decline across the U.S., with the positivity ratio falling below 7.4% on Friday, according to data gathered by Johns Hopkins University. This is the lowest percentage since the start of the recent wave fueled by the delta variant. The U.S. also reported 181,483 new cases on Friday, the first Friday in eight weeks when fewer than 200,000 new cases were tallied. Watch the video below for more information about vaccinations and the spread of the virus:

An elementary school teacher in Wake County, North Carolina, died on Thursday from complications due to COVID-19, The News & Observer reported. Meredith Mongone, 43, was a fourth-grade teacher at Scotts Ridge Elementary School in Apex, North Carolina, and left behind four daughters and her husband. Her death comes as the Wake County school system considers if they should require employees to be vaccinated as a condition of employment, according to The News & Observer. Mongone wasn’t vaccinated, family friend and fellow fourth grade teacher Christi Vereckey told the news source. She added that before her death, Mongone had texted saying she wished she had gotten the COVID-19 vaccine, and after she got sick, she made sure to get her 17-year-old daughter vaccinated. Her other two teenage daughters will also be getting the vaccine, according to Vereckey. The Mongone family has a GoFundMe page to help pay for the medical bills and any remaining funds for the daughters’ education.

A Wisconsin high school student on Friday won a federal lawsuit against a sheriff who threatened her with jail time during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic if she didn’t remove social media posts that said she had the virus, The Associated Press reported. During a spring break trip to Florida, Amiyah Cohoon had a severe respiratory illness with symptoms matching those of COVID-19. While the student had tested negative, her attorney said that doctors told Cohoon’s family that she likely had the virus but had missed the window for testing positive, the AP said. She posted two images to Instagram mentioning she had COVID-19, the latter of which showed her in a hospital bed with what appeared to be an oxygen mask. According to Cohoon’s attorney, this was the image that Cohoon had been demanded to take down.

Samuel Hall, the attorney for the Marquette County Sheriff Joseph Konrath and the Marquette County Sheriff’s Department, had said at the time that Cohoon’s messages “caused distress and panic within the school system and law enforcement acted at the request of school health officials in a good faith effort to avoid unfounded panic.” Luke Berg, the attorney who filed the case on behalf of the Wisconsin Institute for Liberty and Law against the sheriff and a patrol sergeant, said, “This decision underscores the First Amendment rights cannot be dispatched with in an emergency. More importantly, law enforcement has no business trying to regulate the social media posts of local teenagers.” U.S. District Judge Brett Ludwig ruled Cohoon’s constitutional right to free speech had indeed been violated.

After spending 266 days in the hospital, Phil Clevenger, a Missouri bus driver, was welcomed home by the kids who used to be his passengers, CNN reported. Clevenger, who has been hospitalized since Jan. 1, had the entire town cheering him on. “It’s a little bit emotional, just overwhelming – more than I realized,” Phil Clevenger said. “It’s tough. I wouldn’t do it again.” Clevenger hopes to be able to drive a school bus again in the future. “He loves those kids,” Clevenger’s mother said.

Fans planning to attend Utah Jazz games at Vivent Arena in Salt Lake City will be required to show proof of vaccination or a negative PCR test, Deseret News reported. The policy will go into effect on Sept. 30. “As a community gathering place, we have a responsibility to protect our guests by putting health and safety standards in place,” Jim Olson, president of Vivint Arena and the Utah Jazz, said. “The delta variant is a threat to the sports and entertainment industry and our community at large. We ask Jazz fans to get vaccinated to help stop the surge.” Kids under 12 can enter the arena without proof of vaccination or a negative test as long as they remain masked.

Walmart announced Friday that its stores and Sam’s Club would be offering the Pfizer COVID-19 booster shot to those eligible as supplies allow. The company added that it will be supporting long-term care facilities with in-store events and onsite events at nursing facilities. To receive a booster, an appointment can be digitally scheduled, though walk-ins are also available.

Those eligible include:

• People age 65 and older

• Residents of long-term care facilities age 18 and older

• People age 18 and older with underlying medical conditions

• People age 18 to 64 who are at increased risk for COVID-19 exposure and transmission due to their occupation or institutional setting. This includes health care and essential workers.

Arizona schools without mask mandates for staff and students are 3 1/2 times more likely to have a COVID-19 outbreak than a school that had a mask mandate at the start of the school year. The findings come from new research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. According to US News, 191 outbreaks occurred in Arizona schools from July 15 to Aug. 31. Out of the total outbreaks, 59%, or 113, occurred in schools that do not have mask mandates. "In the two largest Arizona counties, with variable K-12 school masking policies at the onset of the 2021-22 academic year, the odds of a school-associated COVID-19 outbreak were 3.5 times higher in schools with no mask requirement than in those with a mask requirement implemented at the time school started,”according to the researchers. 

Vice President Kamala Harris was just minutes away from being interviewed on “The View” on Friday when hosts Sunny Hostin and Ana Navarro learned they tested positive for COVID-19. The hosts were pulled from the set, but the interview with Harris was delayed out of precaution. Instead, Harris’s interview was rescheduled to be a remote interview from a separate room in the studio.

The hosts’ test results represent breakthrough cases, as both Navarro and Hostin are vaccinated. “It’s very important we keep her healthy and safe,” co-host Joy Behar said of Harris. “The Secret Service is doing things to make her feel safe.”

Moderna’s Chief Executive Stéphane Bancel believes that the pandemic could end in a year as more vaccine production allows for further vaccinations, Reuters reported. Speaking to Swiss newspaper Neue Zuercher Zeitung, Bancel said that vaccines would soon be available even for infants. "Those who do not get vaccinated will immunize themselves naturally, because the delta variant is so contagious. In this way we will end up in a situation similar to that of the flu,” Bancle said. “You can either get vaccinated and have a good winter. Or you don't do it and risk getting sick and possibly even ending up in hospital." Bancel said that by the middle of next year, he expects there to be enough doses for everyone in the world to be vaccinated. Additionally, Bancel expects governments to continue to approve booster shots for the already vaccinated, saying that there will “undoubtedly” be a need for a third dose over time.

The nationwide state of emergency in much of Japan could soon be ending as the pandemic situation continues to improve, Norihisa Tamura, the country’s health minister, said on Friday. Emergency restrictions have covered about 80% of the population since a fifth wave of COVID-19 spiked cases last month, Reuters reported. The restrictions have forced the early closures of restaurants and banned the sale of alcohol at restaurants, while urging residents to work from home and refrain from traveling. Infections have decreased about 550%, a tenth of their peak last month, Reuters said.

American olympians participating in the upcoming Winter Olympics in Beijing will be required to show proof of vaccination, the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee announced on Wednesday. The vaccination must be completed by Dec. 1, over two months ahead of the start of the games on Feb. 4, The New York Times reported. While the International Olympic Committee has not announced a vaccine mandate for all athletes, the U.S. made its decision with support from athletes.

“The stark reality is that this pandemic is far from over,” Sarah Hirshland, chief executive of the U.S. committee, told The New York Times. “This step will increase our ability to create a safe and productive environment for Team USA athletes and staff, and allow us to restore consistency in planning, preparation and service to athletes.”

A llama named Fifi might be responsible for a powerful new coronavirus treatment, the BBC reported. Llamas like Fifi produce “nanobodies,” which are small, simpler versions of antibodies. Scientists at the Franklin Institute took a sample of Fifi's blood to develop the treatment, purifying her most potent nanobodies. The treatment, which is among the “most effective [coronavirus] neutralizing agents” tested by Public Health England, could be given to humans as a nasal spray to prevent coronavirus infections. Professor Sheena Cruickshank, an immunologist from the University of Manchester called the promising results "exciting but still quite early,” noting that more data is needed before human trials can commence. "However, it's very promising nonetheless and the fact it may be cheaper and easier to administer is a plus. COVID-19 will be, unfortunately, with us for a while yet, so more treatments will be needed," Cruickshank said.

On Thursday, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention panel approved booster shots for those 65 and older and those 50 to 64 with underlying health problems. After the intervention of CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, another group was added, those 18 to 64 who are health-care workers or work jobs that put them at risk of coronavirus exposure, The Associated Press reported. The group of panel advisors had rejected a proposal to allow healthy front-line health care workers to receive a booster shot by a vote of 9-6, but Walensky disagreed with their ruling.  “At CDC, we are tasked with analyzing complex, often imperfect data to make concrete recommendations that optimize health,” Walensky said. “In a pandemic, even with uncertainty, we must take actions that we anticipate will do the greatest good.”

Even with Walensky’s broadening of booster shot access, the plan still is scaled back from the Biden administration’s initial plan to offer booster shots to nearly every American who wanted them. Walensky says that the priority is still reaching the unvaccinated, who make up the vast majority of hospitalizations and deaths. Just 55% of Americans are fully vaccinated. “We can give boosters to people, but that’s not really the answer to this pandemic,” said Dr. Helen Keipp Talbot of Vanderbilt University. “Hospitals are full because people are not vaccinated. We are declining care to people who deserve care because we are full of unvaccinated COVID-positive patients.”

Famed civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson was released from a Chicago facility on Wednesday after a month-long bout with COVID-19. The infection was a breakthrough case, as Jackson was vaccinated, although his 77-year-old wife was not. According to The Associated Press, his wife Jacqueline required oxygen and a stint in the ICU unit from her own battle with the coronavirus.

Rev. Jackson has been dealing with a Parkinson’s diagnosis since 2017, which complicated his coronavirus recovery, The AP reported.

“We know it is a miracle that both of our parents are now COVID-19 survivors, and we thank God for his healing,” their son Jonathan Jackson said in a Wednesday statement. “We also pray for the millions of people who have been infected with this virus and pray they too will also overcome.”

The annual Firefly Music Festival will require attendees to show proof of vaccination for this week’s event, which begins on Thursday in Dover, Delaware. The festival will feature some of the biggest names in music, including Billie Eilish, The Killers and Lizzo, but will be inaccessible for anyone without a vaccination card or a recent negative test. The event was canceled in 2020 due to the pandemic and state health officials are hoping this year’s preventative measures keep the festival from becoming a superspreader event, 6ABC reported.

Some residents of the Australian state of Victoria have been stranded in other regions of the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but on Thursday, state premier Daniel Andrews said those stranded residents will be able to return home soon. According to Andrews, residents of Victoria who have been stuck in New South Wales will be able to return to their home state beginning on Sept. 30, so long as they have been fully vaccinated and tested negative for the virus. Those returning to Victoria must also quarantine for 14 days, The New York Times reported. Australia has some of the strictest COVID-19 restrictions in the world, which has left many residents of the country unable to return to their own homes for an extended period of time. “We have on numerous occasions sent our apologies to them and made it clear we understand just how challenging it is and we wish things were different,” Andrews said. 

Penn State University announced this week that 117 unvaccinated students were suspended as of Tuesday for missing at least three COVID-19 tests. According to NBC Philadelphia, the university had announced before the fall semester that unvaccinated students or students who had not disclosed their vaccination status were responsible for undergoing weekly testing. The suspension bars the students from registering for future classes, accessing campus grounds and attending school events, such as athletic competitions.

“I’m sorry these students did not follow our repeated admonitions and warnings, and I hope they will make the correction necessary,” Vice President of Student Affairs Damon Sims said. “Others should not repeat their mistake, and everyone who can be should be vaccinated and should upload their data to us as soon as possible.”

Penn State fans cheer against Ball State during an NCAA college football game in State College, Pa., on Saturday, Sept. 11, 2021. Penn State defeated Ball State 44-13.(AP Photo/Barry Reeger)

With Afghanistan’s health system “on the brink of collapse” due to cuts in international funding since the Taliban took over the nation, the state faces an “imminent humanitarian catastrophe” unless action is taken, World Health Organization officials said Wednesday. Nine of Afghanistan’s 37 COVID-19 hospitals have closed, and “all aspects” of the country’s pandemic response have declined, including surveillance, testing and vaccination. Afghanistan’s largest health project, Sehetmandi, has only 17% of all health facilities that are still fully functional. This has had a “rippling effect” on the availability of basic and essential health care. WHO also stressed the need for women to maintain access to education, health care and to the health workforce. Less female health workers are reporting to work as the number of operational facilities dwindle, and female patients are hesitant to seek care, according to the organization.

Wearing a mask outdoors in Argentina is no longer mandatory, according to Bloomberg. Carla Vizzotti, the nation’s minister of health, said the “obligatory nature of masks” will still be recommended in indoor spaces at this time. Some residents have expressed hesitancy toward the new change in rules. “For now I’m going to continue using a mask even though I have both vaccines, but I still have to take care of myself,” resident Mario Silva told Bloomberg. Meanwhile, others in the county have expressed that they believe the change is a positive one. “It seems good to me that we gradually take off our chinstrap. Yes, it's like one feels that something is missing when one is without the mask but we will have to return to normality at some point,” resident Gregoria Leon said.

Students in Florida who find themselves exposed to COVID-19 won’t be kept away from schools, Gov. Ron DeSantis made clear on Wednesday. As long as the students are asymptomatic, they will still attend classes in order to "benefit the overall welfare of students in Florida," CBS News reported. DeSantis added that this emergency rule was enacted to preserve the “constitutional freedoms” of Floridians, although the rule goes against guidelines set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Students who test positive in the state are not allowed to attend school until they test negative or no longer have symptoms, although a note from doctor saying they can return to classes can circumvent those restrictions.

As classes across the country return to in-person learning, school districts are facing shortages of teachers and staff, The Associated Press reported. In South Dakota, one school district was forced to start the year with 120 unfilled teaching positions. In cities like Houston and Waco, Texas, hundreds of vacancies were reported. “This is the most acute shortage of labor we have ever had,” California’s West Contra Costa County associate superintendent Tony Wold said. “We opened this year with 50 — that’s five-zero — teaching positions open. That means students are going to 50 classrooms that do not have a permanent teacher.” At Berkley High School in California, teachers are reporting feeling exhausted. “It doesn’t feel like there are enough adults on these campuses to keep kids really safe. We feel short-staffed in a way we’ve never felt before,” said Hasmig Minassian, a ninth-grade teacher. “You know the early videos of nurses crying in their cars? I kind of expect those to come out about teachers.”

The number of Americans filing for unemployment for the first time was 351,000 for the week ending Sept.18, CNBC reported. That total was higher than the 320,000 projected by Dow Jones. The figure is the highest level in a month and comes two weeks after the number of jobless claims reached a pandemic low of about 312,000, according to CNBC. California reported the most new filings, with more than 24,200, while Virginia reported more than 12,800. 

Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro is currently isolating himself after the country’s health minister recently tested positive for COVID-19. Bolsonaro is unvaccinated and has consistently spoken out against pandemic measures, Axios reported, including at a recent United Nations gathering in New York City. Bolsonaro, who tested positive in July, spoke at the gathering despite efforts to ensure that world leaders would be vaccinated before attending, according to NPR.

"Under the mottos 'stay at home' and 'we will deal with the economy later on,' they almost brought about social chaos to the country," he said. "But our administration in a bold step put in place several economic measures that prevented a greater evil."

After being lax on its mask mandate for the past year, the MTA announced on Wednesday that it would begin cracking down on riders not wearing masks. Transit officials said enforcement of the mask mandate would begin on Thursday, which includes fining maskless riders $50, the New York Daily News reported. According to MTA spokesman Michael Cortez, just 41 summonses have been delivered to riders for skirting the mandate.

“In the coming weeks officers will step up enforcement efforts on commuter rails and work with our partners at the NYPD for the subway and bus system,” acting MTA police chief Joseph McGrann said in a statement. “The message is clear — wear a mask... Riders who are still not getting this message will now see the cost associated with that thinking.”

Leaders of the Mormon church announced on Wednesday that face masks will be temporarily required in temples. In a statement, leaders encouraged members to wear masks and get vaccinated in an effort to keep temples open, The Associated Press reported.

“As cases of COVID-19 increase in many areas, we want to do everything possible to allow temples to remain open,” the church’s statement read. “Therefore, effective immediately, all temple patrons and workers are asked to wear face masks at all times while in the temple.” In the state of Utah, where the church headquarters are located, cases have continued spiking in recent months, particularly among unvaccinated residents. The state has seen over 40,000 new cases in the past four weeks, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University.

For the third day in a row, more than 2,000 new coronavirus deaths were reported in the United States, according to Johns Hopkins University figures. Over 132,000 new cases and 2,776 new deaths were reported, with the case positivity ratio continuing to hover around 8%. The U.S. leads the world in new coronavirus cases, reporting more than three times the new cases of countries like Brazil, the United Kingdom and India. More than 712,000 vaccine doses were administered, and 56% of the U.S. population is now fully vaccinated. For more facts and figures on the coronavirus pandemic, watch the video below.

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