The decision is a huge step back from the sweeping plan proposed by the White House a month ago to offer booster shots of both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to nearly all Americans eight months after they get their second dose.

Since the temporary restraining order was issued, Germantown has seen a slower rate of cases. Other suburban districts noticed a slight decrease or no change since Labor Day.

Federal Judge Sheryl Lipman ruled Friday morning ruled that the mask mandate in K-12 schools in Shelby County is lawful.

The mayor is among 23% of Memphians who got COVID despite being vaccinated. About 77% of the city’s coronavirus patients are unvaccinated; 94% who are hospitalized are unvaccinated, and 99% of fatalities are unvaccinated, said Dr. Richard Walker, interim head of emergency medicine at UTHSC.

But the positivity rate of 14% indicates that cases are undercounted.

Watch the COVID-19 Task Force Briefing live now.

Compromise possible but lawyers say it’s more likely restraining order will be extended.

There are 7,083 reported active cases, with 2,476 — or 35% — of those being pediatric. 

Performers will include U of M’s Wind Ensemble, opera and Sound Fuzion.

The Department of Labor will carry out the order through OSHA.

Portal for applying will open Sept. 29; no date yet on when funds will arrive.

Shelby County Schools reported 490 student cases among the district’s public and charter schools and 89 cases among staff.

The opening of schools in Lakeland has brought about the COVID-19 headaches suffered by every district, but also a shortage of bus drivers.

Parents staged a protest at the SCS Board of Education to follow up on their concerns about the safety of their children and what they said was distasteful mistreatment in a meeting led by Deputy Superintendent John Barker.

The rules mandate that all employers with more than 100 workers require them to be vaccinated or test for the virus weekly, affecting about 80 million Americans. And the roughly 17 million workers at health facilities that receive federal Medicare or Medicaid also will have to be fully vaccinated.

The local Health Department is not planning on additional COVID-19 business restrictions at this time but “nothing is off the table,” said its director. 

Watch the COVID-19 Task Force Briefing now.

With the challenges of a pandemic stretching into this school year, Arlington Community Schools continues to make strides forward, Superintendent Jeff Mayo said.

Yesterday, the agency also reported 1,112 new COVID-19 cases.

In the second of two parts, Dr. Jon McCullers of UTHSC and Dr. William Schaffner from Vanderbilt Medical Center tackle questions about vaccination, length of immunity, ‘long COVID,’ the possibility of COVID ‘passports’ and continuing to live in a coronavirus world. 

Mississippi’s low vaccinated rate, with about 38% of the state’s 3 million people fully inoculated against COVID-19, is driving a surge in cases and hospitalizations that is overwhelming medical workers.

In the first of two parts, leading physicians speak to the history of COVID-19, its possible origins, the safety and effectiveness of vaccines, and the the role of masking, among other topics. 

Some Germantown parents are concerned by the suburban school system’s quarantine guidelines. However, Superintendent Jason Manuel said the district is reviewing its measures.

The temporary restraining order against Gov. Bill Lee requires children to mask in schools. Opting out is not allowed at this time.

Shelby County is ordered to enforce its universal mask mandate in all schools.