Three Americans found dead at a Sandals resort on the Bahamas' Great Exuma island on May 6 died due to carbon monoxide poisoning, local authorities said Tuesday."At this juncture of the investigation, we can officially confirm that all three of the victims died as a result of asphyxiation due to carbon monoxide poisoning," the Royal Bahamas Police Force announced in a news release. "This matter remains under active investigation."No signs of trauma were found on the bodies, police previously told CNN, and Bahamian acting Prime Minister Chester Cooper had said foul play was not suspected. Police would not comment beyond the cause of death for all three U.S. citizens in the latest news release.The Americans -- Michael Phillips, 68, and his wife, Robbie Phillips, 65, from Tennessee, and Vincent Paul Chiarella, 64, from Florida -- died over the course of one evening. Chiarella's wife, Donnis, 65, was airlifted to the nation's capital of Nassau for further treatment before being transferred to Florida.The two couples had reported feeling ill the night prior and were seen by medical staff, Bahamas Police Commissioner Paul Rolle said in May, and had eaten at different locations.Staff discovered the couples in separate villas the following morning and alerted police.Sandals Resorts said in a statement to CNN at the time, "Nothing is more important to Sandals Resorts than the safety of our guests," and expressed "deep sadness" confirming the deaths.

Authorities in the Bahamas have revealed what caused the deaths of three Americans at a resort in May.

The Associated Press reported that carbon monoxide poisoning killed a Tennessee couple and a man from Florida.

Royal Bahamas Police Force Commissioner Paul Rolle identified the victims as 68-year-old Michael Phillips, his wife 65-year-old Robbie Phillips and 64-year-old Vincent Chiarella.

According to the AP, Chiarella's wife, Donnis, was airlifted to a hospital in Nassau before being transported to a hospital in Miami.

The news outlet reported that they were staying next to each other in separate villas in the same building at the Sandals Emerald Bay resort on Great Exuma Island.

It's unknown if there were carbon monoxide detectors in the villas, and if they were working or not, according to the AP.

The news outlet reported that the night before their bodies were discovered, police said all four went to a doctor and complained of feeling ill.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Across the country, mask mandates are going away. Every state, except Hawaii, has either dropped its mandate or announced plans to do so in the future.

On Jan. 20, the U.S. was averaging 735,652 new COVID-19 cases a day.

On Feb. 20, the country was down to 102,385 daily cases..

While those numbers have gone down, another number has gone up.

In January, more Americans called in sick than usual. In fact, the latest numbers from the Department of Labor show the statistics to be around twice as much as they did throughout last year.

The statistics are a reminder that the pandemic is not over.

PUSH BY LAWMAKERS

Some in Congress fear that as the pandemic continues, more people will go to work even if they test positive, especially if they don't have sick leave.

Ahead of President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address on Tuesday, a group of Democrats is pushing a policy proposal to mandate sick leave to be included in the speech and voted on sometime this year.

Earlier in the pandemic, Congress enacted paid sick leave for those who contracted the virus but that program has expired.

One proposal would give every American worker at least two weeks of sick leave if they catch COVID-19.

Around 33.6 million American workers do not have paid sick leave, according to the latest figures from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The U.S. is one of only 11 countries in the world without mandatory leave for health problems.

A LOOK AT HISTORY

"The 1918 pandemic came in waves just like ours does," John M. Barry is a distinguished scholar at Tulane University.

He isn’t an expert on paid time off but he is an expert on how pandemics end.

He wrote "The Great Influenza" about the pandemic of 1918.

A hundred years ago, he says, even after all the public health restrictions were lifted, people still got sick and couldn’t go to work.

In fact, cities like Detroit, Kansas City and Milwaukee saw some of their worst outbreaks after people stopped wearing masks.

As a result, the government, as well as employers, should still be prepared for employees to call in sick.

“There will be another variant," Barry cautioned.

Whether paid sick leave can pass Congress is still very much unclear.

Democrats in Congress have struggled in recent months to pass similar initiatives.

As the new COVID-19 omicron variant spurs global travel bans, experts say concerns over its impact should prompt millions of unvaccinated Americans to get their shots — and for those who are eligible, to get their boosters.

"I would hope that within the next week or two weeks, so many of those people will take advantage of the vaccine," Dr. William Schaffner, a professor at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, told CNN on Friday. "That will help us in the immediate term. And I would anticipate that, as bad as Omicron might be, our vaccine still will be partially effective."

Dr. Anthony Fauci echoed that, pointing to vaccinations and boosters as effective mitigation tools.

"I'm saying this absolutely clearly, that if ever there was a reason for unvaccinated people to get vaccinated and for those who have been vaccinated when your time comes up to go and get a booster shot," Fauci told NBC News on Friday.

"The booster shots give you a very, very important edge," he said, noting that boosters increase the level of antibodies that protect against the virus.

Data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that 196 million Americans, or 59% of the U.S. population, was fully vaccinated as of Friday. An additional 37.5 million have received booster shots, the data shows.

On Friday, the U.S. moved to restrict travel from eight mostly southern African countries starting Monday as the World Health Organization deemed omicron, first detected in South Africa, a variant of concern. Travel into the U.S. will be restricted for those entering from Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique, Malawi and South Africa.

Omicron has raised concerns for health officials because there's a possibility it could be more contagious than the original novel coronavirus strain, the WHO said, and it also has a significant number of mutations.

After a pandemic that has lasted nearly two years, experts and global leaders are anxious about the impact of the omicron variant, and many nations have issued travel bans. Besides South Africa, the newly identified variant has been detected in Botswana, Hong Kong and Belgium.

Two cases of the variant have also been detected in the U.K., Secretary of State for Health Sajid Javid said Saturday, prompting British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to announce a series of "targeted" measures to combat the variant.

There have been no indications so far that the variant has made its way into the U.S., Fauci told CNN Friday. On Saturday morning, however, he told NBC he "would not be surprised" if the variant was already in the U.S., saying, "it almost invariably is going to go all over."

The U.S. variant surveillance system has reliably detected new variants in the past, the CDC said.

"We expect omicron to be identified quickly, if it emerges in the U.S.," the agency said in a statement.

Vaccine makers are working to determine effectiveness against omicron

Meanwhile, vaccine makers have disclosed they are taking action to address the emergence of a new variant.

Moderna is working quickly to test the ability of its vaccine to neutralize omicron, the company said Friday, and data is expected in the coming weeks.

The strain includes mutations "seen in the Delta variant that are believed to increase transmissibility and mutations seen in the Beta and Delta variants that are believed to promote immune escape," Moderna said in a news release.

"The combination of mutations represents a significant potential risk to accelerate the waning of natural and vaccine-induced immunity."

If its current vaccine and booster are insufficient against the variant, Moderna explained that one possible solution is boosting people with a larger dose, which the company is testing.

The company is also evaluating two multivalent booster candidates to see if they provide better protection against omicron — both of which include some of the viral mutations present in the variant. Moderna said it is also testing an omicron-specific booster.

"For several days, we have been moving as fast as possible to execute our strategy to address this variant," Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel said in the news release.

Scientists at BioNTech, the German company that partnered with Pfizer to make its COVID-19 vaccine, are also investigating the impact of the variant on their shot, with data expected within the upcoming weeks.

A Johnson & Johnson spokesperson told CNN in a statement the company was also testing the effectiveness of its vaccine against omicron.

COVID-19 travel restrictions aren't all that effective, experts say

The Biden administration's decision to curtail travel from eight countries is a precautionary measure as the U.S. government learns more about the Omicron variant of coronavirus.

But some experts say travel restrictions aren't as effective as they may seem.

"Travel bans are modestly effective. They can obviously influence travel directly from that country to the United States," said Schaffner, the doctor at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

"But obviously U.S. citizens will be permitted to come back. They could bring the virus. And people could go from the country of interest, South Africa for example, and go to other countries that are not on the travel ban, and enter, if you will, by the side door. So travel bans are somewhat effective, but let's not expect a miracle," he said.

U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents and noncitizens who are the spouses of citizens or permanent residents are exempted from the new restrictions.

Dr. Megan Ranney, a professor of emergency medicine and Associate Dean of Public Health at Brown University, said universal vaccination requirements for all air travel would be more effective.

"Or having quarantines when people arrive in the U.S. from other countries. Neither of those are particularly politically palatable right now, but they would make a much bigger difference in the spread of this variant," Ranney told CNN on Friday.

Video above: Afghanistan on brink of poverty under Taliban

The State Department informed congressional staff Thursday that it is in touch with 363 U.S. citizens in Afghanistan, 176 of whom want to leave, two sources familiar with the call told CNN.

The figures presented on that call underscore the ongoing challenge faced by the Biden administration as Americans continue to come forward to seek help in leaving Afghanistan in the wake of the Taliban takeover and the chaotic U.S. withdrawal.

Thursday's numbers — combined with evacuation figures since Aug. 31 — present a far higher count of Americans looking to leave Afghanistan than the administration publicly estimated at the time of the U.S. withdrawal.

The day prior to the U.S. evacuation was completed at the end of August, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the State Department was tracking "a small number of Americans, under 200 and likely closer to 100, who remain in Afghanistan and want to leave."

More than 200 U.S. citizens have been evacuated by the U.S. government in the nearly two months since the military withdrawal, but the number of Americans who are seeking to leave Afghanistan is still in the range of 100 to 200 people.

State Department spokesperson Ned Price noted this week that more people have come forward amid the ongoing evacuation efforts.

Biden administration officials have consistently pointed to the difficulty of tracking the number of U.S. citizens in the country, and it is unclear how many total Americans were in the country at the time of the U.S. withdrawal on Aug. 31.

In his remarks at the end of August, Blinken noted that there "are long-time residents of Afghanistan who have American passports, and who were trying to determine whether or not they wanted to leave."

"Many are dual-citizen Americans with deep roots and extended families in Afghanistan, who have resided there for many years. For many, it's a painful choice," he said.

"If an American in Afghanistan tells us that they want to stay for now, and then in a week or a month or a year they reach out and say, 'I've changed my mind,' we will help them leave," Blinken added.

On Thursday evening, Price tweeted that the U.S. "has facilitated the departure of 234 U.S. citizens and 144 LPRs [lawful permanent residents] from Kabul since August 31."

"These are the numbers of people whose individual departures we directly facilitated. An additional number of U.S. citizens and LPRs have departed on private charters or have independently crossed via a land border," another State Department spokesperson told CNN Friday.

"The number of U.S. citizens and LPRs we assist is dynamic as we review manifests, receive reports from colleagues in the field, and assist with departures," they said.

In addition to the more than 100 U.S. citizens who are seeking assistance in leaving Afghanistan, there are scores of Afghans — many of whom worked for the U.S. military — who were left behind during the U.S. military withdrawal and are desperately trying to leave.

Millions of Americans have been given the COVID-19 vaccine after the FDA approved two in December. However, an analysis of available data shows Black, Hispanic and other ethnic groups are being vaccinated at lower levels than white Americans.

Based on data from 16 states that share the race/ethnicity of those getting vaccinated, the proportion of vaccinations among Black and Hispanic Americans is smaller in each state than the proportion of COVID-19 cases among Blacks and Hispanics, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation and CNN.

“For example, in Mississippi, Black people account for 15% of vaccinations, compared to 38% of cases and 42% of deaths, and, in Delaware, 8% of vaccinations have been received by Black people, while they make up nearly a quarter of cases (24%) and deaths (23%),” according to the Kaiser Family Foundation analysis of available data.

They said similar disparities exist for Hispanic Americans in the states providing data. Although there are smaller gaps between cases and vaccination rates for Asian Americans, the available data is “limited.” They have created charts to track the available data on vaccination rates among race and ethnic groups.

The CDC reports racial and ethnic disparities in the rates of COVID-19 infection, hospitalizations and deaths. In a report earlier this month, their data showed Black and Hispanic Americans are dying of COVID-19 at a rate three times higher than white Americans, and are being hospitalized at a rate of four times higher.

Those looking at the early vaccination data are hopefully, however, that as the COVID-19 vaccines are rolled out to more of the population, the racial and ethnic gaps will become smaller.

The vaccine has only been available to health care workers and long-term care facilities, and is only now becoming available to those 65 or 70 and older, depending on the state, and some front line workers.

“Different patterns may emerge as the vaccines roll out more broadly,” the Kaiser Family Foundation reported, urging states to make equity the focus of their vaccine roll out campaigns.

Seventeen years ago, when Adriana Nichols moved from New York City to Los Angeles, she had a simple wish list: natural light (her New York studio apartment was dark), a yard and quiet neighbors. She managed to check everything off that list — and has spent nearly two decades living in the canyons of LA.

But today, as she looks to move again with her husband, her requirements have changed.

"It is profoundly a different wish list. A place where we have [running] water, where we are not... having bags packed in case fires evacuate us," said Nichols.

Video above: UN scientists signal “code red” warning about the future of climate change

In the last few years, Nichols says the California wildfires and poor air quality make living there unappealing — and downright scary.

But she says nearly every place she looks to move to is experiencing some element of climate risk. And a new analysis by Redfin, a real estate brokerage, reveals more Americans are moving into areas that face the highest climate risks than ever before.

Redfin analyzed data from ClimateCheck, a real estate climate risk assessment provider, and the U.S. Census, which showed that of the top 50 U.S. counties facing climate risks in heat, storms, drought, flood and fire — the majority saw an increase in population over the last five years.

Counties with homes facing the highest heat risk saw populations increase by an average of 4.7% over the last five years. Counties with homes facing high drought risk saw population growth of 3.5%, fire risk counties grew by 3%, flood 1.9%, and storm 0.4% over the last five years.

Meanwhile, places with relatively low climate risks have experienced population declines. The 50 counties with the lowest number of homes facing heat risk, for example, saw a population loss of 1.4% in the last five years, according to Redfin.

Counties around New York City and Chicago — both in states that were already leading the U.S. in population decline — only lost more people during the pandemic when homebuyers left metro areas in exodus, according to Redfin.

"Counterintuitively, people are moving to places with higher climate risk," said Daryl Fairweather, chief economist at Redfin. "And it seems like climate, although it's something that people care about, is at the bottom of the list or it's not the top priority."

For example, migration to Wasatch County, Utah, just outside Salt Lake City, is up almost 15% in the last five years. But Wasatch County has the third-highest fire risk in the U.S., with 96% of the homes there at risk, according to Redfin. The area became even more popular in the last year amid the pandemic, with people looking for affordability, more space and proximity to the outdoors.

"2020 saw some of the worst wildfires we've ever seen in Utah," said Ryan Aycock, agent and market manager for Redfin in Salt Lake City. "I don't necessarily believe that it's going to slow down the people moving into the area. It's still extremely affordable. It's still a very desirable place to live compared to a lot of places."

Affordability appears to be a big factor. Of the 50 counties with the largest share of homes facing high heat and storm risk, more than half had a median sale price below the national average of $315,000, Redfin found.

'Nothing will deter them'

Williamson County, Texas — part of the Austin metro area — has the highest heat risk in the U.S., yet it's the county with the biggest growth in population, at 16.3% since 2016, according to Redfin.

"People live in San Francisco or New York for the most part because it's where they are able to advance their careers the most, but now Austin is starting to rise as a tech hub and Austin has climate risk," said Fairweather.

It's also where people are buying their second homes — followed by Florida, where homebuyers are taking advantage of lower taxes, said Scott Durkin, CEO of Douglas Elliman.

"I think people continue to put [climate risk] in the back of their minds. I think there are people that will do anything to be on the ocean and the coast of Florida and nothing, nothing will deter them," said Durkin.

That's despite a record-breaking Atlantic hurricane season last year. And the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is predicting a 60% chance of an above-normal hurricane season again this year, with Florida often a target.

Still, home sales in Palm Beach and Miami, are up 270% and 133%, respectively, since last year, according to Douglas Elliman.

During the pandemic-fueled red-hot housing market, many buyers waived home inspections to beat out other buyers, according to Durkin. However, in climate temperate areas, Durkin advises against that.

"If you've got something that has the elements of the strong weather or... subject to heavy winds and waves breaking and beach erosion, you have to really think twice. You may want to get the inspection on the way in before you even negotiate, just so you know for yourself," said Durkin.

As for Nichols, she wants to be out of her Los Angeles home in a matter of months.

"It's no longer a question of, 'Where do we want to live?' The question has become, 'Where can we live in relationship to what's happening there climate-wise?'" said Nichols.

Video above: Oregon to require school employee vaccinations

With an alarming rise in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, more Americans have recently made the decision to get vaccinated than in the last six weeks.

More than 1 million doses of the vaccine were reported administered Thursday, new U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data showed, marking the first time since early July for the single-day change in reported doses. The average pace of those initiating vaccination is more than 70% higher than one month ago.

Oklahoma and Louisiana — two states that have lagged the rest of the nation in vaccinations — are now outpacing the national average, White House COVID-19 Response Team Chief of Staff Asma Mirza said in calls with local faith leaders Thursday.

"We're seeing a new willingness, a new openness to getting vaccinated," she said in a discussion with Louisiana faith leaders.

The boost in vaccinations, however, comes as more health care systems are reporting an increasingly dire situation, with an influx of patients flooding waiting rooms due largely to the spread of the more infectious delta variant.

And because it takes weeks to gain immunity following full vaccination, even those beginning their inoculations need to remain cautious against infection.

Dr. Robert Jansen, chief medical officer at one of Atlanta's largest trauma centers, Grady Health System, said it was seeing a "tsunami of patients coming into the emergency department."

The situation is also critical in Texas, where Gov. Greg Abbott announced the state will deploy additional medical personnel to hospitals across the state.

Lauren Meyers, director of the University of Texas COVID-19 Modeling Consortium, warned that hospitals are at a "breaking point."

"We are sort of in a very dire situation in Austin," Meyers said.

The rate of hospitalizations is still below pandemic highs seen in January, CDC data shows. But at the current pace — an average of more than 11,000 new hospital admissions for COVID-19 over the past week — the U.S. might reach a record high within a month, the CDC said.

Preventative vaccinations are the most effective means to combat COVID-19 infections, and the Food and Drug Administration will likely approve the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine around the end of August, former FDA Commissioner Dr. Mark McClellan said Thursday. Current vaccines have been granted emergency use authorization.

"I think that approval, at least for the Pfizer vaccine, is going to come very soon -- probably by the end of the month or right around there," McClellan told CNN.

Booster shots for those inoculated are expected to be made widely available by Sept. 20, and about 75% of the eligible population will have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine at current vaccination rates, according to a CNN analysis of CDC data.

Around 51.1% of the total U.S. population is fully vaccinated, according to the CDC.

Vaccine requirements beginning to take shape

With the efficacy of vaccines continuously proven in keeping recipients out of hospitals, more jurisdictions nationwide are taking steps requiring employees to be inoculated, barring medical or religious exemptions.

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker issued an executive order Thursday that will require approximately 42,000 executive department employees to provide proof of vaccination by mid-October or face possible termination, according to a spokesperson.

In New Orleans, all city employees and public-facing personnel will need to submit proof of vaccination or receive routine Covid-19 testing starting Aug. 30, according to Mayor LaToya Cantrell.

The mayor's office said the additional step was taken "to protect residents, City employees and public-facing contracted personnel from the COVID-19 outbreak, and more recently the Delta variant outbreak in Orleans Parish."

In Oregon, all K-12 teachers, educators, staff and volunteers at schools — both public and private — will need to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 by Oct. 18 or six weeks after full FDA approval, Gov. Kate Brown announced at a press conference Thursday.

Brown's announcement came as the chief physician executive at St. Charles Hospital, in Bend, Oregon, said hospitals are in crisis.

"Our frontline health care workers that have been caring for patients every day are exhausted," Dr. Jeff Absalon said. "They're burned out. And we're in a pandemic that many of us regard as largely preventable."

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told CNN Thursday that vaccine requirements at schools is a sound strategy to create a safe environment.

"One of the most important ways is to surround the children with people who are vaccinated, if they're eligible to be vaccinated — and that means teachers and personnel in the school," Fauci said.

'This is not an adult disease anymore'

With schools back in session, local officials are faced with deciding whether to mandate masks in classrooms, plus the day-to-day challenges of quarantining students exposed to COVID-19.

Legal battles over mask mandates continued Thursday in Texas, as the state Supreme Court refused Gov. Abbott's request to quickly intervene over some local jurisdictions' decision to require masks in schools.

Dr. Sara Cross, a member of the COVID-19 task force for Tennessee's governor and an infectious disease specialist at the University of Tennessee, said bans on mask mandates would have "catastrophic consequences" for those in classrooms.

"When one child doesn't wear a mask, it doesn't only affect that child. It affects the entire classroom. It affects teachers. We just had a teacher in the Memphis area, a 31-year-old woman, die of Covid in the past few days from acquiring it in the classroom," Cross told CNN on Thursday.

"We can't handle what we're seeing. We are estimating that the number of cases in Tennessee will increase six-fold by the end of September if we don't take measures to mitigate the spread," Cross said.

"This is not an adult disease anymore," Cross said, saying the pediatric hospital in downtown Memphis "currently has at least 9 children in the ICU from COVID-19."

At least 15 states have temporarily or indefinitely required K-12 students to wear masks in schools, according to a CNN analysis, with some provided exceptions: California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Virginia and Washington.

An Australia team that beat Team USA in a pre-Olympics exhibition was no match for the Americans in a tournament elimination game.Breanna Stewart scored 23 points and filled up the box score with crooked numbers as the Americans won their Olympic quarterfinal with Australia by a 79-55 score in Japan.Their 53rd-straight Olympic win sets the Americans up for a semifinal fight with Serbia.Team USA went down 5-2 very early but Stewart took over, scoring 10 points in a 14-1 run leading into a timeout. She'd finish the first half with 20 points.The Americans led 26-12 after one quarter, Stewart well on her way to upping the ante following 9, 15, and 17 points in her first three games of the Olympics.Australia, of course, didn't quit and opened the second quarter with a 13-2 run spurred by a 3-point play from Stephanie Talbot and a straight-up 3-pointer from Leilani Mitchell, who had nine points in the first half.It was a red herring, though, as Team USA dominated at both ends of the floor. The Americans held Australia to 30 percent shooting, blocking five shots while dishing out 24 assists (led by Chelsea Gray's eight). Coach Dawn Staley got everyone in the game, but it was all about Stewart. She shot 8-of-10 from the floor including 2-of-3 from beyond the arc, grabbing five rebounds to go with two blocked shots, a steal, and three assists. Stewart also drew six fouls.Brittany Griner had the highlight of the game, one of her two blocks and emphatic standing denial. She ended with 15 points, two steals, two blocks, and eight boards.Related video — Olympic Drill: 3x3 Basketball

With COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations increasing in communities with low vaccination rates, an expert says Americans face a choice: get vaccinated or continue dealing with the impacts of the pandemic.

"We can't have it both ways; we can't be both unmasked and non-socially distant and unvaccinated. That won't work," Dr. Jonathan Reiner, a CNN medical analyst and professor of medicine and surgery at George Washington University, said Monday.

COVID-19 cases rose a sharp 47% over the past week as the more transmissible delta variant spread, but not all communities were impacted equally.

About a third of the nation's cases came out of five states, Florida, Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri and Nevada, Reiner said. And impacts were felt most among the unvaccinated. Of all the deaths from the virus in June, more 99% were among unvaccinated people, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said.

"We have to pick sides and the side is we need to be vaccinated," Reiner said. "We have the tools to put this down — we can put it down this summer — but the way to do that is vaccination."

To get more Americans vaccinated, officials will need to address the reasons behind some of the population's hesitancy.

For some, it is that the vaccines have not been fully approved, which Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told CNN is only a matter of time. And for some, political divide has inhibited vaccinations, but Reiner emphasized that with more than 600,000 Americans dead, it is the virus that should be seen as the enemy, not vaccines.

In Arkansas, which has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the U.S. at 35% according to CDC data, Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott Jr. said he, as a Black man, was skeptical of getting a vaccine, but now wants to lead the way to ensure all residents get the shot.

"It's serious and we should not have to allow someone to die for us to really believe the research and science. What we continue to do is go by data-driven policies and research and all that we do in our administration, and this is just another way to continue to do that because, again, this saves lives," said Scott.

'Nothing changed' after Pfizer booster meeting

Federal health officials met with vaccine maker Pfizer/BioNTech Monday to discuss if and when a booster shot for its COVID-19 vaccine might be needed.

Pfizer presented data to federal health officials for about an hour, suggesting boosters may soon be needed to sustain COVID-19 protection, but Fauci told CNN after the meeting, "Nothing has really changed."

He said based on the present data, federal health agencies, like the CDC and U.S. Food and Drug Administration, are not ready to recommend a booster.

"We made it very clear that their data is part of a much larger puzzle," Fauci told CNN.

The meeting came after Pfizer said last week it is seeing waning immunity from its coronavirus vaccine and is picking up its efforts to develop a booster shot to protect people from variants.

Pfizer emphasized in a statement Monday that it will be publishing "more definitive data in a peer-reviewed journal and continuing to work with regulatory authorities to ensure that our vaccine continues to offer the highest degree of protection possible."

The message Fauci hopes the public will take away from the meeting, he said, is that discussion of boosters does not mean current vaccines are not offering sufficient protection against the virus.

"What we are talking about is not necessarily how good they are, because they are unquestionably terrific," he said. "It's the durability of the response that's in question, which is a perfectly reasonable thing when you are dealing with a vaccine.

"We don't know how long that extraordinarily high degree of protection is going to last and that's what we're talking about."

Boosters aren't recommended now, but that doesn't mean they will not at some point be advised for the entire population or for specific, vulnerable groups, he said.

For example, Dr. Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, said Monday it was surprising that there was no discussion during the briefing about boosters for immunocompromised people.

A 'tidal wave' coming toward unvaccinated Americans

The rate of infection among unvaccinated Americans is so much higher, CNN Medical Analyst Sanjay Gupta said Monday, that America will soon more from a divide between vaccinated and unvaccinated populations to vaccinated and infected.

Dr. Howard Jarvis, an emergency medicine physician in Springfield, Missouri, told CNN on Monday that his sick patients are all unvaccinated.

"If they're sick enough to be admitted to the hospital, they are unvaccinated. That is the absolute common denominator amongst those patients," he said. "I can see the regret on their face. You know, we ask them, because we want to know, are you vaccinated? And it's very clear that a lot of them regret (not being vaccinated)."

In St. Louis County, Missouri, officials said new cases have increased by 63% over the past two weeks, and County Executive Sam Page said, "a tidal wave is coming towards our unvaccinated populations."

COVID-19 related hospital admissions rates increased by 36% over the past two weeks in the St. Louis metro area, according to a report from the St. Louis County Public Health Department.

"This variant is spreading quickly, and this variant has the ability to devastate those in its wake, and that is why it is so critical to get vaccinated now," Page said.

CNN —

Related video above: People on the move this Memorial Day weekend

Travel is up, COVID-19 cases are down and vaccines have been put in many arms.

The coronavirus pandemic isn't over, but Memorial Day weekend is set to look more like it did before the virus upended life more than a year ago.

Americans Saturday were experiencing their first holiday weekend since the CDC changed its masking guidance on May 13 -- that fully vaccinated people don't need to wear masks indoors, and they don't have to keep their distance from others.

Mask mandates melted away. As of Friday, California, Hawaii, New Mexico were the only states with mask mandates for everyone.

People are increasingly on the move. AAA estimated that more than 37 million people in the U.S. will travel at least 50 miles from home over the Memorial Day weekend -- 13% down from 2019, but 60% above last year.

And the U.S. set a pandemic-era record number of passengers traveling through U.S. airports in a single day -- 1.96 million -- on Friday, according to the Transportation Security Administration.

President Joe Biden on Friday praised what vaccination progress has been made, expressing a sense of hope ahead of the unofficial start of summer.

"We're not just saving lives. We're getting our lives back, " Biden said during remarks at Sportrock Climbing Center in Alexandria, Virginia on Friday.

Vaccines have helped make a gradual return to normalcy possible.

More than 166 million people in the U.S. -- 50.1% of the population -- have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine as of early Friday, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Cases have fallen since a short rise in mid-April: The country has averaged more than 21,600 COVID-19 cases a day over the past week -- 69% below the spring 2021 peak of more than 71,200 on April 14, according to Johns Hopkins University data.

Last year, public health specialist Dr. Saju Mathew was worried about case spikes that followed holiday travel and congregating.

"This year I am not as worried. What a difference these vaccines have made," Mathew, a primary care physician in Atlanta, told CNN on Saturday.

But with mask mandates evaporating -- and maybe with unvaccinated people dropping their masks against CDC guidance -- the unvaccinated "have become more of a threat to each other," he said.

"All the more reason I hope the unvaccinated crowd will get that incentive to get vaccinated," Mathew said.

The CDC on Thursday predicted that daily cases, hospitalizations and deaths will fall over the next four weeks. The CDC ensemble forecasts concluded that there will be a total of 596,000 to 606,000 COVID-19 deaths by June 19.

As of Friday, COVID-19 has killed at least 593,364 people and infected more than 33 million in the U.S., according to Johns Hopkins.

Most seniors are vaccinated

The improved outlook is boosted by continuing efforts by states to get people vaccinated. Already, 10 states have reached the Biden administration's goal of vaccinating 70% of adults by July 4 with at least one dose.

Also, nearly three-quarters of seniors are now fully vaccinated, according to CDC data.

On Friday, Biden said despite the growing light at the end of the tunnel, "We're not done yet."

"We have to reach those who are not vaccinated and make it as easy as possible for them to get protected," he said.

Meanwhile, in Georgia, Republican Gov. Brian Kemp signed an executive order prohibiting schools and school districts from requiring students and workers to wear a face covering while on campus.

The new order, effective Monday, also eliminates rules for restaurants, bars, conventions, child care facilities, live performance venues and other organizations. Previous executive orders eliminated regulations for camps and sporting events, according to a press release.

"As hospitalizations, cases, deaths, and percent positive tests all continue to decline -- and with vaccinations on the rise -- Georgians deserve to fully return to normal," Kemp said in the release. "With safe and effective vaccines widely available and the public well-aware of all COVID-19 mitigation measures, mandates from state and local governments are no longer needed."

Vaccine disparities continue in America's vulnerable communities

The slow return to normalcy is made possible by vaccines, and those who choose to take them. But there is a segment of the U.S. population that is not getting vaccinated as quickly, and it's not all by choice.

Socially vulnerable counties in America are experiencing lower vaccination rates, according to CDC data published Friday.

A CNN analysis of the federal data found counties that are lagging behind the overall COVID-19 vaccination rate tend to be poorer and less educated, with less access to computers and the internet.

This digital and economic divide contributes to disparities in health care access generally, experts say, and access to COVID-19 vaccines is no exception.

"With too many things in health, we focus on the individual behavior without looking at the systems that either make it easy or not for someone to practice that healthy behavior," Dr. Richard Besser, president and chief executive officer of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, told CNN.

The CDC used a social vulnerability index, which assesses counties based on 15 factors in four categories: socioeconomic status, household composition, race and ethnicity, and housing type and transportation. More vulnerable counties have been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, but those same communities have also lagged in vaccination rates.

"Health behaviors (like getting a COVID-19 vaccine) are, in part, a personal choice," Besser said. "But one of the things that's often said is that the choices we make depend on the choices that we have. For someone who doesn't have internet access, there's not much choice there in being able to go online and schedule your appointment."

Another health crisis?

As the nation inches toward the possible end of the pandemic, another health crisis looms.

It's time to address the loneliness epidemic, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy said Friday.

"At the heart of all of this is a bigger, deeper question that we have an opportunity to address right now -- which affects our mental health ... which is a question of what kind of society do we want to design after this pandemic ends?" Murthy said during a federal health meeting.

Loneliness can lead to anxiety and depression as well as sleep disturbances, dementia and shorter lifespans, Murthy said.

Not to mention the toll that racism and xenophobia can have on one's mental health, chipping away at people's self-worth and making "them feel like outsiders," he said.

"It contributes to a sense of isolation," Murthy noted.