The latest on the Covid-19 pandemic in the US

President Biden said "nearly 80 million Americans" have not yet received a Covid-19 vaccine.

"Instead of encouraging people to get vaccinated and mask up, they are ordering mobile morgues for the unvaccinated for those dying in our communities. This is totally unacceptable," he continued.

Biden said that although the majority of Americans are trying to do the right thing, the portion that aren't have the potential to cause a lot of damage for everyone.

"I know there's a lot of confusion and misinformation, but the world's leading scientists confirm that if you're a fully vaccinated, your risk of severe illness from Covid-19 is very low," Biden added.

President Biden, speaking from the White House, said he will sign an executive order requiring all federal workers be vaccinated against Covid-19, with no option of being regularly tested to opt-out of the requirement.

The President said he will also sign an executive order directing the same standard be extended to employees of contractors who do business with the federal government.

The Department of Defense, the Department of Veterans Affairs, Indian Health Service and National Institutes of Health will also complete their previously announced vaccination requirements, which the White House estimates covers 2.5 million workers.

The new announcements move beyond what Biden announced earlier this summer, when he required federal workers be vaccinated but allowed for those who opted out to be subject to stringent mitigation measures.

The White House has said the federal government should act as a model for other businesses in their own vaccine mandates, and has praised large companies that require employees to be vaccinated.

CNN's Kaitlan Collins and Kevin Liptak contributed reporting to this post. 

President Biden sought to highlight his administration's accomplishment in its fight against Covid-19 but also warned of a difficult season ahead as temperatures drop in much of the country.

Biden went on to urge Americans to choose to get vaccinated before announcing new vaccination mandates for federal employees, contractors and others.

"This is a pandemic of the unvaccinated," he added. "Please do the right thing."

President Biden said the US is capable of fighting Covid-19 and the country has made a lot of progress in doing so since he entered the White House.

Biden added: "First, we've made considerable progress in battling Covid-19. When I became president, about 2 million Americans were fully vaccinated. Today over 175 million Americans have that protection."

President Biden is speaking about the next phase of his administration's pandemic response, which will include expanded vaccine mandates for healthcare workers and more measures.

The President is expected to announce a slate of new measures, including a doubling of fines for airline passengers who refuse to mask and a price reduction for at-home rapid tests.

During a background call with reporters earlier this afternoon, officials previewed the announcements the President would make.

Ahead of the speech, officials also said millions of healthcare workers and more than 300,000 educators will be required to be vaccinated against Covid-19. They called it an “expansion” of similar requirements already in place for assisted living home staff.  

The New York City Police Department confirmed Thursday that any employee who does not get vaccinated or provide proof of a recent negative Covid-19 test will not be allowed to work and will not get paid.

In July, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that the city’s Covid-19 vaccine mandate would expand to require the entire municipal workforce, including the NYPD, to get vaccinated or start weekly testing by Sept. 13.

De Blasio also previously announced that any new hires for any New York City agencies will be required to be fully vaccinated. 

CNN has reached out to the Police Benevolent Association union for comment.

Last month, NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea sent a message to members of the NYPD on Friday imploring them to get vaccinated after three members of the department died from Covid-19 in a single week.

By the numbers: As of last month, 47% of the NYPD have had at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine and 44% are fully vaccinated.

As CNN previously reported, the NYPD's vaccination figure only accounts for vaccinations administered by the department and doesn't account for any potential vaccinations administered elsewhere.

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said the state needs more people to get vaccinated as most of the people hospitalized due to Covid-19 are unvaccinated. 

More than 3,800 people are hospitalized with the virus, according to the latest information provided by the state's health department. 

During a news conference Thursday afternoon, Cooper said the state is "laser focused" on getting people vaccinated.

At least 51% of the state's population has been fully vaccinated, with 55% receiving at least one shot. 

"The key to ending this pandemic is the vaccine," Cooper said.

Millions of health care workers and more than 300,000 educators will be required to be vaccinated against Covid-19, senior Biden administration officials said Thursday ahead of the President's speech.

Fines for airline passengers who refuse to mask up are going to double. At-home rapid tests are going to get cheaper.

Those are among the steps President Biden will announce when he speaks to the country about Covid-19 this afternoon, senior Biden administration officials said.

During a background call with reporters Thursday afternoon, officials previewed the announcements the President will make, in addition to new vaccination requirements for all federal employees.

The new requirements will apply to 17 million healthcare workers across the country, the official said.

They called it an “expansion” of similar requirements already in place for assisted living home staff.  

In addition, Biden will announce that “roughly all of the 300,000 educators in head start programs will be required to be vaccinated,” the official said, adding that the President will also “call on governors to require vaccinations for all school teachers and staff.”

The defense production act will be used to accelerate the production of rapid tests, and the administration is planning to send 25-million free tests to US health clinics. Some retailers, like Amazon, Kroger and Walmart, will sell the at-home tests at cost, the official said.

In addition, the Transportation Safety Administration is going to double fines on passengers who refuse to mask up, the official said.

Violators of the federal transportation face mask requirement already faced a $250 fine that increases for subsequent violations, and can rise up to $1,500 for repeated violations.

The agency already said that sanction amounts could fall outside those ranges “based on substantial aggravating or mitigating factors.

Children have a lower risk of serious symptoms from Covid-19 but are not any less likely than adults to get infected in the first place, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said in an interview released Thursday.

“Well, they don't have a lower infection rate. What they have is a lower seriousness of infection rate. So we’re seeing more children in the hospital now because the Delta variant is more readily transmissible among everybody — adults and children,” Fauci told the New York Times. 

Fauci said it was not unusual for viral infections to be more severe in adults than in children, and it may be linked to differences in immune response.

Fauci said he thinks children and adults have a similar infection rate from Covid-19.  

“I think that when you're talking about infection rate, I believe it's similar. You know, we, there isn't a direct comparison but given the numbers of children that are getting infected, getting infected is just an exposure situation. There's no necessarily inherent protection against infection that's different — except if you're vaccinated, of course," he said.