1 in 500 US residents has died of Covid-19

Health experts have hailed vaccinations as the best source of protection against the virus, noting that the majority of people hospitalized with and killed by Covid-19 are unvaccinated.

In Pennsylvania, from January 1 to September 7, 97% of the state's Covid-19 deaths were among unvaccinated people, Pennsylvania's acting secretary of health said Tuesday.

Another layer of strong protection, experts say, is masking.

"If you surround the kids with vaccinated people and you have everybody wear a mask, you can get a situation where the children will be relatively safe in school," Fauci told CNN's Jake Tapper.

Fight brewing over vaccine mandates

In the effort to manage the spread of the virus, many officials and experts have promoted vaccine mandates -- but others are opposing such measures.

New York issued an order in August requiring all health care workers be vaccinated against Covid-19 by September 27.

On Tuesday, a federal judge issued a restraining order temporarily suspending New York state from enforcing its vaccine mandate if health care workers claim a religious exemption.

Because the mandate does not require health care workers to receive their first dose of the vaccine until September 27, the judge's order states the temporary restraining order "does not, as a practical matter, go into effect until that date."

A hearing is scheduled for September 28.

After the ruling, New York Gov.

Unlike other meetings to discuss the vaccine, this one, with requests from Pfizer to authorize a third dose for most people, won't be a slam dunk.

"This will be much messier than in December," said Dr.