Good evening. We begin tonight with breaking news that is vitally important to the millions

of Americans who have been vaccinated against COVID, but might not be fully protected because

their immune system is damaged by illness or suppressed by certain medications.

CNN has learned that the FDA is expected within the next 48 hours to authorize booster

shots in some of these cases. Third doses that the up till now two shot vaccines. The CDC

estimates about 9 million Americans are immunocompromised, so it's a very big deal, as well

as a first. It would be the first authorization for booster shot for COVID. Also late today,

US Surgeon General Murthy offered this hopeful prediction for parents to see an end to

Wolf Blitzer. If everything were to go well and everything would have fallen to place,

I think it's possible that we could see a vaccine before the end of the calendar year for

kids under 12. That cannot come too soon, obviously. Nationwide, the number of kids hospitalized

for COVID is on the brink of exceeding the highest levels on record for the entire pandemic.

In California, where the numbers are also climbing, the governor today became the first

in the nation to order vaccination or regular testing for all teachers and other school personnel

statewide. Meantime in Texas and Florida, where childhood cases are climbing much more

steeply, local officials defied orders from their respective governors by imposing mask

mandates in schools or the general population. And across the hardest hit areas, people

who work in children's hospitals are seeing something they haven't seen prior to the

Delta variant they say. Over the last year, we hadn't seen as many kids get acute COVID

lung disease as much as we're seeing now. The Delta variant is definitely hitting them.

A lot harder, a lot faster than we had seen in the past. It is the kids are definitely

sicker than they have been. So lots to talk about tonight, including how effective

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