Coronavirus

The debate over masks mandates in schools was reignited Tuesday night at the Polk County school board meeting. The issue wasn't on the agenda, but parents on both sides of the issue still had a lot to say, including the father of a 12-year-old boy who is in the ICU battling COVID-19.

Nikki Bass' life revolved around children; her three girls -- Ally, Sierra and Hannah – and the children she treated at Saint Joseph’s Hospital in Tampa. She wasn't vaccinated and contracted COVID-19 as pediatric cases surged in her hospital. Now, at 38, she's gone and her family is left to pick up the pieces.

Kelly Peterson was being treated for leukemia and had a compromised immune system. Her doctor decided the vaccine may be too hard on her body and suggested she wait, but despite wearing a mask, she became infected with COVID-19 and died. Her family hopes Kelly's story will inspire others to get vaccinated.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers kicker Ryan Succop has tested positive for COVID-19 and will miss the preseason finale Saturday night in Houston.

Data collected by Johns Hopkins University on Aug. 24 shows the U.S. recorded nearly 230,000 new COVID-19 cases in 24 hours.

Carnival Corp.

Hawaii’s governor asked that visitors and residents reduce travel to the islands to essential business only while the state struggles to control COVID-19 as the highly contagious delta variant spreads in the community.

Dr. Anthony Fauci said he expects an uptick in vaccination rates following Pfizer’s full approval, and predicted that if enough people do get vaccinated, the country could see COVID-19 under control in the spring of 2022.

Across the U.S., some public officials and other community leaders are trying to help people come up with ways to get exempted from having to wear masks or get vaccinated against COVID-19.

A 32-year-old Polk County deputy and a father of five has lost his ongoing battle with COVID-19, the sheriff’s office announced.

U.S. military medical officers have been deployed to hospitals in Mississippi and Louisiana as both states face devastating surges in COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths amid low vaccination rates.

All New York City public school teachers and other staffers will have to get vaccinated against the coronavirus, officials said Monday.

President Joe Biden asked the U.S. Supreme Court Monday to keep an eviction moratorium in place after Georgia and Alabama realtors sought to challenge a lower court’s ruling.

"We are seeing far less job applicants or people not showing up for their interviews," one Chick-fil-A location wrote, saying they were in the middle of a "hiring crisis." Another location said it was closing its dining room because "our team members are exhausted and there is no relief for them in our roster."

President Joe Biden called on Americans waiting for full FDA approval to get their COVID-19 vaccine after Monday’s FDA announcement of the Pfizer shot.

A new poll finds that a majority of Americans support mask and vaccine mandates for students and teachers in K-12 schools.

The Pentagon says it will require military service members to receive the COVID-19 vaccine now that the Pfizer vaccine has received full approval.