Coronavirus Watch: New infections are dropping

New COVID-19 infections are down 56.8% nationwide since the delta variant surge peaked in the first week of September, Johns Hopkins University data shows.

USA TODAY's Mike Stucka found cases are down in every region. Some of the states hit hardest in the delta wave – Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, South Carolina and Tennessee – are reporting cases at a rate about one-sixth of where they were less than two months ago. Arkansas and Louisiana cases have fallen by more than three-quarters since then, too. 

But there are some warning signs from states, mostly in colder climes and often with low vaccination rates in some communities. Compared to the week of Sept. 4, the pace of new cases is up about 85% in Alaska, 63% in Michigan and 56% in Montana. They're even up 39% in Vermont, which was an early leader in vaccination.

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

• An FDA advisory panel will vote Tuesday on whether to authorize the Pfizer vaccine for use in children 5 to 11. Once the committee has approved the vaccine, three steps remain before it would be available to children: The FDA will have to sign off, an independent CDC advisory panel will review the data, and then the CDC director would have to sign off.
• Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey issued an executive order Monday instructing all state agencies to not enforce the federal vaccine mandate issued by President Joe Biden that applies to companies employing 100 or more people.
• Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is pushing for state lawmakers to authorize $5,000 bonuses and other incentives to lure police officers from other states who don't want to comply with vaccine requirements.

Today's numbers: The U.S. has reported more than 45 million COVID-19 cases and 737,000 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Worldwide, there have been more than 243 million cases and more than 4.9 million deaths. About 66% of people in the U.S. have received at least one vaccine shot, and about 57% are fully vaccinated, according to the CDC. Among U.S. adults, 79% have received at least one shot, and about 69% 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