By Sharon LaFraniere

Read the full article from The New York Times, here.

Moderna cited the rate of breakthrough infections, “real world evidence of reduced effectiveness against the Delta variant,” and falling levels of neutralizing antibodies from its vaccine six to eight months after a second dose. The company said its clinical trial studies showed that a third injection boosted antibody levels — one measure of the immune system’s response — higher than what they had been before the second dose.

By Aya Elamroussi and Holly Yan

Read the full article from CNN, here.

In 45 states, the rates of new Covid-19 cases either declined or stayed relatively steady this past week compared to the previous week, according to data Saturday from Johns Hopkins University.
Five states — Montana, Colorado, Minnesota, Michigan and Pennsylvania — had at least 10% more new cases this past week compared to the previous week.

By Heidi Przybyla and Laura Strickler

Read the full article from NBC News, here.

President Joe Biden says his sweeping Covid-19 vaccination and testing mandate will boost the economy and save lives, but as businesses prepare for the new requirement, they’re wondering not only what will be in the regulation, but how it will be enforced.

The mandate, which will apply to organizations with at least 100 employees and cover an estimated 80 million workers, has already drawn threats of lawsuits from two dozen Republican attorneys general and prompted some people to vow to quit their jobs. But a greater challenge for the administration could lie within the agency tasked with ensuring compliance.

By Andrew Ross Sorkin, Jason Karaian, Sarah Kessler, Stephen Gandel, Lauren Hirsch, Ephrat Livni and Anna Schaverien

Read the full article from The New York Times, here.

President Biden is headed to Chicago today, where he will make another push for companies to announce coronavirus vaccine mandates. He plans to meet with Scott Kirby of United Airlines and to visit a construction company considering a mandate, a White House official told DealBook. Throughout, the president will stress the message that vaccine mandates are crucial to the economic recovery. To bolster its case, the White House released a report this morning on the effects of corporate vaccine mandates to date.

By Adeel Hassan

Read the full article from The New York Times, here.

He worries about people dropping their use of masks and traveling more, as they have after earlier drops in new cases — actions that could help fuel a fresh surge in December and January.

The number of new daily cases in the United States has fallen 35 percent since Sept. 1, according to a New York Times database. The drop was especially stark in Southern states that had the highest infection rates during the Delta variant surge that started in June.

Florida, which averaged more than 20,000 new cases a day during much of August, is reporting fewer than 6,000 infections a day. Louisiana, which weeks ago was averaging more than 5,000 cases daily, has about 1,000 cases each day.

By Adam Liptak and Glenn Thrush

Read the full article from The New York Times, here.

The decision is likely to have immediate real-world consequences, putting hundreds of thousands of tenants at risk of losing shelter, while the administration struggles to speed the flow of billions of dollars in federal funding to people who are behind in rent because of the coronavirus pandemic and its associated economic hardship. Only about $5.1 billion of the $46.5 billion in aid had been disbursed by the end of July, according to figures released on Wednesday, as bureaucratic delays at the state and local levels snarled payouts.

By Erika Edwards and Elizabeth Chuck

Read the full article from The New York Times, here.

Federal health officials are expected Wednesday to present evidence for why people are likely to need Covid-19 boosters eight months after their second doses of a vaccine, according to sources with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The eight-month time frame is most likely based on findings from both the U.S. and abroad looking at how the vaccines have held up over time — and whether they can stand up to the hypertransmissible delta variant of the coronavirus that has overtaken the country.

By Apoorva Mandavilli

Read the full article from The New York Times, here.

Since Americans first began rolling up their sleeves for coronavirus vaccines, health officials have said that those who are immunized are very unlikely to become infected, or to suffer serious illness or death. But preliminary data from seven states hint that the arrival of the Delta variant in July may have altered the calculus.

Breakthrough infections in vaccinated people accounted for at least one in five newly diagnosed cases in six of those states and higher percentages of total hospitalizations and deaths than had been previously observed in all of them, according to figures gathered by The New York Times.

By Julie Bosman and Mitch Smith

Read the full article from The New York Times, here.

Americans have entered a new, disheartening phase of the pandemic: the realization that the virus is not disappearing anytime soon.

Even as the highly contagious Delta variant has flooded the nation with a surge of recent infections, mayors, governors and public health officials have treaded lightly when considering whether to reimpose restrictions. With more than twice as many new cases being reported nationally compared with last August, baseball games, music festivals and state fairs have forged ahead, and restaurants, gyms and movie theaters have stayed open.

By Sharon LaFraniere

Read the full article from The New York Times, here.

The Biden administration has decided that most Americans should get a booster vaccination eight months after they received their second shot, and could begin offering third shots as early as mid-September, according to administration officials familiar with the discussions.