Coronavirus Watch: Booster shots available Sept. 20, Biden administration says

The Biden administration on Wednesday unveiled plans to begin offering COVID-19 booster shots this fall for Americans who received the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, eight months after they become fully vaccinated.

Americans who are eligible can receive a third shot beginning Sept. 20, pending authorization from the FDA.

The initial doses will go to those who were fully vaccinated earliest in the vaccine rollout, including health care providers, nursing home residents and other seniors. The administration plans to also begin delivering booster shots directly to residents of long-term facilities, according to the statement. Read more.

It's Wednesday, and this is Coronavirus Watch from the USA TODAY Network. Here's more news you need to know.

• Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who has banned mask requirements at schools despite opposition from several school districts, has contracted COVID-19. Abbott's office said the Republican governor, who is fully vaccinated and gets tested daily, had a positive result Tuesday.
• About 20,000 students in Missouriare quarantined for COVID-19 exposure in the state — 4.5% of the public school population, according to the state's latest enrollment figures, a top health official said Tuesday.
• Air, train and bus travelers will need to mask up the rest of the year and into mid-January. The Biden administration is expected to extend the requirement yet again, through Jan. 18, 2022, according to multiple reports.
• Indigenous people were the most likely group to be hospitalized and die of the virus, according to the CDC, and a new study shows many states inconsistently or don't report specific tribal data in death records.
• Britain approved the Moderna vaccine for children aged 12 to 17, ahead of the reopening of schools. 

Today's numbers: The U.S. has reported more than 37 million COVID-19 cases and 623,400 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Worldwide, there have been more than 208.8 million cases and more than 4.3 million deaths. About 60% of people in the U.S. have received at least one vaccine shot, and about 51% are fully vaccinated, according to the CDC. Among U.S. adults, 72% have received at least one shot, and about 62% 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, USA TODAY breaking news reporter, @grace_hauck