The daily average for new COVID-19 cases topped the 100,000 mark of the third straight day and hospitalizations keep rising, but deaths fell to a 10-month low. Meanwhile, advisors to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that children aged 5 to 11 receive the COVID-19 booster shot from Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE that was cleared by the Food and Drug Administration earlier this week. The seven-day average of new cases was 103,537 on Thursday, up 52% from two weeks ago and the highest level since Feb. 19, according to a New York Times Tracker. There were 11 states and Washington, D.C. that saw new cases more than double in two weeks, led by Mississippi with a 179% rise and Connecticut with a 151% increase. The daily average of hospitalizations has been rising steadily for the past month to 23,460 on Thursday, up 29% in two weeks and the most since March 18. On the bright side, the daily average for deaths fell to 303, down 17% in two weeks and the lowest count since July 27.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
