FDA recommends third dose of vaccine for severely immunocompromised; largest teacher's union backs vaccine mandates: COVID-19 updates

The less than 3% of Americans who are severely immunocompromised should be able to get an extra dose of the Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, the federal government decided Thursday. A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory committee plans to meet Friday to discuss them.

People who are on medications or have diseases that suppress their immune system may not have gotten adequate protection from their earlier doses of the COVID-19 vaccine and are more likely to mount a response to an additional dose, the Food and Drug Administration determined.

"Making the booster shots available to us is imperative," said Michele Nadeem-Baker, a patient with chronic lymphocytic leukemia, a type of blood cancer. "The immunocompromised community has felt forgotten This gives us hope that we have not been."

The FDA determined that transplant recipients and others with a similar level of compromised immunity can receive a third dose of the vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna at least 28 days after getting their second shot. The FDA made no mention of immune-compromised patients who received the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

Meanwhile, the nation's largest teacher's union said that it supported policies that would require all teachers to get vaccinated or submit to regular testing, as cases among children rise around the nation.

The 7-day average of hospitalized children rose 30% in the past week, a jump from 184 children in hospitals to a new peak of 239, data from the CDC said.

“It is clear that the vaccination of those eligible is one of the most effective ways to keep schools safe,” said Becky Pringle, president of the National Education Association, in a news release. “No one wants to be back in the classroom with their students more than educators, and student safety is our number one priority."

The American Academy of Pediatrics sent a letter to acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock in early August, urging the agency to continue working aggressively toward authorizing vaccines for children under 12.

Also in the news:

►D.C. residents can now get the vaccine from the comfort of their own home. Patrick Ashley, the senior deputy director of emergency preparedness and response at the D.C. Department of Health, confirmed on Twitter that the program was now open to all unvaccinated residents.

►More than 100 protesters gathered Thursday at the Cobb County school board headquarters in Marietta, Georgia. Most of them were trying to push Georgia’s second-largest school district, with 110,000 students to mandate masks.

►The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday declined to block a COVID-19 vaccine mandate at Indiana University, clearing the way for school officials to require students and faculty members to be vaccinated.

►Mayor London Breed said Thursday that San Francisco will require proof of full vaccination against COVID-19 for a number of indoor venues, including restaurants, bars, gyms and many entertainment sites, becoming the nation's first major city to impose such a condition. New Orleans is also making proof of vaccination a requirement for indoor venues.

►Florida and Texas could have prevented 70,000 hospitalizations and saved 4,700 lives if they had matched the vaccination rate of the nation's top five states, a new study found.

►The Department of Health and Human Services on Thursday said it would require more than 25,000 health workers to receive coronavirus vaccines.

►Britain reported 33,074 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, the highest daily rate since July 23. The numbers are fueled by the delta variant.

►Ninety percent of U.S. counties now meet CDC’s COVID masking guidelines, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said Thursday during a briefing. The CDC updated their guidance July 27 as the highly transmissible delta variant caused cases to rise across the country.

📈 Today's numbers: The U.S. has had more than 36.3 million confirmed COVID-19 cases and 619,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data. The global totals: More than 205.3 million cases and 4.3 million deaths. More than 167.3 million Americans — 50.4% of the population — have been fully vaccinated, according to the CDC.

📘 What we're reading: Six members of a Florida church died from COVID-19 within 10 days. Now, Impact Church in Jacksonville has vaccinated more than 1,000 people in the community and is looking to calm congregants’ fears about coronavirus vaccines. Read more here.

Keep refreshing this page for the latest news. Want more? Sign up for USA TODAY's Coronavirus Watch newsletter to receive updates directly to your inbox and join our Facebook group.

Parent knowingly sent student to school with COVID-19, exposing over 80 others

A parent knowingly sent their child to school after receiving confirmation of a positive COVID-19 test, exposing more than 80 students to the disease on the first day of school, the Washoe County Health District in Nevada said Wednesday.

The parent has also tested positive for COVID-19 and has refused contact with the school district and health officials.

The Washoe County School District would not say how many students at Marce Herz Middle School they excluded on the second day of a new school year. Those who were notified can't return until Aug. 20 if they have not been fully vaccinated.

Families of children who may have been exposed were notified in a message sent by Herz Principal Brandon Bringhurst on Monday night.

"Out of an abundance of caution and due to possible exposure to COVID-19, your student must be in quarantine at home, per Washoe County Health District guidelines," Bringhurst said in his message.

The school in southwest Reno, Nevada, opened in August 2020 under pandemic conditions, when middle and high schools were rotating students in its buildings every other day to accommodate stricter social distancing rules. The school was built to accommodate 1,400 students in grades six through eight.

- Siobhan McAndrew, Reno Gazette-Journal

27 people on board Carnival Cruise Line ship test positive for COVID-19

Twenty-seven people sailing on Carnival Cruise Line's Carnival Vista ship have tested positive for COVID-19. Of those who tested positive, 26 are crew members and one person is a passenger, according to a news release from the Belize Tourism Board Wednesday.

Carnival spokesperson AnneMarie Matthews confirmed the positive cases and additional info in the tourism board's statement to USA TODAY.

Matthews said positive COVID cases were first announced last Wednesday during the previous cruise that disembarked last Saturday in Galveston, Texas. It's unclear how many people were positive at that time.

On the ship, 99.98% of crew members are vaccinated, and 96.5% of passengers are vaccinated, the tourism board said, noting that all of the people who tested positive are vaccinated. Most are asymptomatic, and a few have mild symptoms.

- Morgan Hines

Contributing: Karen Weintraub, USA TODAY; The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Vaccine mandates endorsed by teachers union as COVID cases spike