Advisers to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration voted on Sept. 17 to recommend Covid-19 vaccine booster shots for Americans 65 and older and those at high risk of severe illness, after overwhelmingly rejecting a call for broader approval.
President Joe Biden took aim on Sept. 9 at vaccine resistance in America, announcing policies requiring most federal employees to get Covid-19 vaccinations and pushing large employers to have their workers inoculated or tested weekly.
In a scene replayed across the United States, angry parents and activists streamed into a meeting of the Florida’s Lake County school board on Sept. 2 where it considered whether to mandate mask-wearing for students and staff due to Covid.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious disease expert, said on Aug. 29 he supports Covid-19 vaccine mandates for children attending schools as the highly contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus continues to fuel a surge in cases in the nation.
Half of children aged 12 to 17 have received at least their first vaccination dose against Covid-19, and that age group has the fastest growth rate in vaccinations, the White House said on Aug. 27.
U.S. companies are scrambling to boost production of coronavirus tests increasingly in short supply as Covid-19 cases soar and schools and employers revive surveillance programs that will require tens of millions of tests, according to industry executives and state health officials.
Illinois will require all eligible students and school employees to be vaccinated and re-instituted an indoor mask mandate under an order announced by Governor J.B. Pritzker on Aug. 26.
New York City will require public school teachers and staff to get vaccinated against Covid-19, Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Aug. 23, part of a push to get more residents inoculated and slow the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant.
The cities of San Francisco and New Orleans on Aug. 12 ordered patrons to show proof of Covid-19 vaccinations to enter restaurants, gyms and other venues, joining New York in a severe step designed to contain the fast-spreading Delta variant.
California on Aug. 11 became the first U.S. state to require that its teachers and other school staff be vaccinated or regularly tested for Covid-19, a move Governor Gavin Newsom called “a responsible step” to ensure the safety of children.