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President Joe Biden received his COVID-19 vaccine booster shot on live TV Monday afternoon, days after the CDC endorsed booster shots for millions of Americans who received their second shot of the Pfizer vaccine at least six months ago. |
"Boosters are important, but the important thing we need to do is get more people vaccinated," Biden said, noting about 23% of Americans haven't received a first shot. |
"That distinct minority is causing an awful lot of damage for the rest of the country," Biden said. "One thing's for certain: A quarter of the country can't go unvaccinated and us not continue to have a problem." |
Biden said he planned to travel to Chicago on Wednesday to speak with businesses about the importance of vaccinations. He encouraged Americans to text 438829 to find a nearby vaccination location. |
It's Monday, and this is Coronavirus Watch from the USA TODAY Network. Here's more news you need to know. |
• | Tens of thousands of health care workers across New York state could lose their jobs as soon as Monday, the state-imposed deadline for them to receive a vaccine. At least 8,700 nursing home workers chose to get the shot to avoid losing their jobs, state data showed. | • | Nearly 2,200 schools across 539 districts in 43 states have temporarily closed in-person learning because of COVID-19 outbreaks so far this school year, according to Burbio, a New York-based data service that is tracking K-12 school reopening trends. | • | The world has reported its 4,750,000th COVID-19 death, Johns Hopkins University data shows. But that number almost certainly represents a drastic undercount. India alone underreports deaths by about 4 million, some estimates suggest. | • | Alabama lawmakers on Monday are scheduled to begin a special session focused on a $1.3 billion construction plan to build at least three new prisons and renovate others. | |
Today's numbers: The U.S. has reported more than 42.9 million COVID-19 cases and 688,000 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Worldwide, there have been more than 231.9 million cases and more than 4.7 million deaths. About 64% of people in the U.S. have received at least one vaccine shot, and about 55% are fully vaccinated, according to the CDC. Among U.S. adults, 77% have received at least one shot, and about 67% are fully vaccinated. |
Tracking the pandemic: See the numbers in your area here. See where cases are rising here. See vaccination rates here. And here, compare vaccinations rates worldwide and see which countries are using which vaccines. |
– Grace Hauck, USA TODAY breaking news reporter, @grace_hauck |
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