Coronavirus Watch: Cases edge higher in 24 states

Infections appear to be creeping higher in about half of U.S. states as winter approaches, suggesting that the nation may not have seen the last of the delta variant surge.

Cases rose week-over-week in 24 states in the seven-day period that ended Wednesday, Paste BN's Mike Stucka found in an analysis of Johns Hopkins University data.

The rolling average of seven-day case counts nationwide has stabilized after a month of steady declines. Cases were rising primarily in colder states that hadn't been as hard-hit in the worst of the delta wave.

It's Thursday, and this is Coronavirus Watch from the Paste BN Network. Here's more news to know:

• Workers at larger businesses must get vaccinated by Jan. 4 or face regular testing under federal rules being released Thursday. Workers who choose the testing option may have to bear the cost. They also will be required to wear a face mask on the job, beginning Dec. 5.
• U.S. life expectancy fell by almost two years in 2020 from 2019 as the pandemic shook the world, according to a study of 37 nations published in the BMJ, formerly the British Medical Journal.
• Britain became the first nation to approve a pill to treat COVID-19. The tablet, called molnupiravir, was developed by New Jersey-based Merck and will be given twice a day to patients recently diagnosed with the disease.
• Moderna is scaling back expectations for the number of vaccine deliveries it expects to make this year, the Associated Press reports. Issues including longer delivery lead times for exports and a temporary impact from expanding the company’s capacity may shift some deliveries to early 2022.

Today's numbers: The U.S. has reported more than 46.2 million COVID-19 cases and 750,000 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Worldwide, there have been more than 248.3 million cases and more than 5 million deaths. About 67% of people in the U.S. have received at least one vaccine shot, and about 58% are fully vaccinated, according to the CDC. Among U.S. adults, 80% have received at least one shot, and about 70% are fully vaccinated.

Tracking the pandemic: See the numbers in your area here. See where cases are rising here. See vaccination rates here. And here, compare vaccinations rates worldwide and see which countries are using which vaccines.

– Grace Hauck, Paste BN breaking news reporter, @grace_hauck