December 17 coronavirus news

Japan reported another day of record Covid-19 cases, adding 3,214 infections from Thursday, according to the country’s Health Ministry.

Thursday’s numbers top Japan’s previous record reported one week ago, when 3,030 new cases were reported on December 12.

The ministry also reported 44 new virus-related fatalities for Thursday, bringing the country’s death toll to 2,796. 

Japan’s total confirmed cases nationwide stands at 190,950.

Winter surge: Japan is seeing a rise in Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations since the start of November, as cold winter temperatures set in. Large urban centers like the capital Tokyo are reporting their highest level of infections.

Tokyo reported 822 new Covid-19 cases on Thursday, marking the highest single-day rise since the start of the pandemic, the Tokyo metropolitan government announced.

Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike warned the city could reach 1,000 new cases a day if the trend continues and issued a special alert for the new year holidays.

All members of the US Congress will be eligible to receive the Covid-19 vaccine, according to a memo from the Capitol attending physician and a news release from Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.

The physician’s memo to all members and staff asks members of Congress to call for an appointment.

Pelosi said that she plans to receive the vaccine “in the next few days.”

In a statement, she said: “My recommendation to you is absolutely unequivocal: there is no reason why you should defer receiving this vaccine.” 

People queue in line to wait for coronavirus testing in Seoul on Thursday, December 17.

South Korea reported 1,062 new Covid-19 infections for Thursday, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).

The country is grappling with another wave of infections as winter sets in.

In a Friday statement, the KDCA said 26 of the new cases were imported while 1,036 were locally transmitted.

The majority of the new infections – 757 – were in the Seoul metropolitan area.

South Korea also reported that 11 people died from the virus on Thursday, bringing the country’s total death toll to 645. 

South Korea has recorded at least 47,515 cases since the beginning of pandemic.

The US Congress will receive a “small number” of Covid-19 vaccine doses, according to a letter from Capitol attending physician Brian Monahan.

In the letter, to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and viewed by CNN, Monahan wrote that Congress, the Supreme Court and Executive Branch agencies will be “provided with a specific number of Covid-19 vaccine doses to meet long-standing requirements for continuity of government operations.”

“Those requirements are focused on essential operations and personnel,” he added.

Monahan continued that the “small number” of doses provided “reflects a fraction of the first tranche of vaccines as it is distributed throughout the country.”

McConnell announced earlier tonight that he will get a Covid-19 vaccine “in the coming days” and urged all Americans to do the same.

Covid in Congress: Earlier today Rep. Cedric Richmond, incoming White House Senior Advisor and Director of the Office of Public Engagement, tested positive for Covid-19.

Richmond is the fifth member of the House to announce this week that they had recently tested positive. 

That brings CNN’s tally on members of Congress who have tested positive for Covid-19 to 39 House members and 11 senators.

US Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar confirmed Thursday that his wife, Jennifer, has tested positive for Covid-19.

In a memo to colleagues, Azar said his wife is experiencing mild symptoms, but “otherwise doing well” and is self-isolating at home.

Azar added that he and his children have been tested and received negative results.

Azar has attended a White House holiday party – despite the CDC advising Americans not to hold holiday gatherings – but said he used a face covering and tried to practice social distancing.

Rep. Cedric Richmond delivers remarks during a House Judiciary Committee markup of H.R. 7120, the "George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2020," on Capitol Hill on June 17 in Washington.

Democratic Rep. Cedric Richmond, incoming White House senior adviser and director of the Office of Public Engagement, said that he has mild symptoms and no fever after testing positive for Covid-19 .

Speaking to CNN’s Don Lemon in a phone interview, Richmond said he is quarantined at home and is going to stay in quarantine for at least 10 days.

He said he is following all the rules of the Biden transition and their Covid protocols.

Richmond told Lemon that he saw President-elect Joe Biden at a rally on Tuesday. They were outside, didn’t get very close and were both wearing masks.

Richmond had traveled to Atlanta on Tuesday for a campaign event for the Georgia Senate run-off, where Biden was also present. 

According to the transition team, his interactions with the President-elect totaled less than “15 consecutive minutes, the CDC’s timeframe for close contact.”

The US Food and Drug Administration said Thursday it plans to grant emergency use authorization to Moderna for its coronavirus vaccine.

“The agency has also notified the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Operation Warp Speed, so they can execute their plans for timely vaccine distribution,” the statement continued.

The United States reported 114,237 people hospitalized with Covid-19 on Thursday, the highest number since the pandemic began, according to the Covid Tracking Project (CTP).

This is the 16th consecutive day that the US has remained above 100,000 current hospitalizations. 

The highest number of hospitalizations according to CTP data are: 

Dr. Paul Offit.

Participants who received a placebo in Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine trial should get the vaccine, Dr. Paul Offit, a member of the US Food and Drug Administration’s vaccine advisory group, said Thursday.

Moderna told trial participants that if the vaccine is authorized, volunteers who got a placebo in the trial will be offered the vaccine.

“If you got a placebo in that trial, I think you should get this vaccine,” Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, told CNN’s Erin Burnett. 

“If you’re in a high-risk condition, like you live or work in a long-term care facility or you’re on the front lines in healthcare, I think you should get the vaccine,” he added. “I think that’s the ethically correct thing to do.”

A new mystery cluster of Covid-19 cases in Australia’s New South Wales continues to grow after 10 new cases were added overnight, according to the NSW Health Department.

The total number of cases related to the cluster from Sydney’s Northern Beaches is now at 28. Health officials believe the source may have been from overseas.

Health officials are asking Northern Beaches residents to stay home as much as possible Friday and through the weekend.

“This includes working from home where possible, not visiting friends or family in aged care facilities or hospitals unless essential, avoiding unnecessary gatherings and high-risk venues such as clubs, restaurants, places of worships and gyms, and avoiding unnecessary travel outside of or to the Northern Beaches area,” the health department said.

What we know: The first cases of the cluster were reported Wednesday – the first locally-transmitted cases in the state since December 3.

One case identified from Wednesday was a 40-year-old bus driver who took airline crews to and from their hotels. The health department said the driver’s strain does not match the strain seen in recent clusters in Australia.

New South Wales has recorded a total of 4,493 virus cases since the beginning of the pandemic, according to NSW Health.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell conducts a news conference in the U.S. Capitol after the Senate Republican Policy luncheon on December 15.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced he will get a Covid-19 vaccine and urged all Americans to do the same.

“Because of government continuity requirements, I have been informed by the Office of the Attending Physician that I am eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine, which I will accept in the coming days,” the Kentucky Republican said in a statement.

He also mentioned the hesitancy on the part of some people to get the vaccine.

He added, “As a polio survivor, I know both the fear of a disease and the extraordinary promise of hope that vaccines bring. I truly hope all Kentuckians and Americans will heed this advice and accept this safe and effective vaccine.” 

It is unclear if McConnell will get his shot publicly to help generate confidence in the vaccine, as other political leaders are pledging to do.

CNN has reached out to all Hill leadership offices about whether they plan to get the Covid vaccine as well.

Two members of the US Food and Drug Administration vaccine advisory committee voted in favor of recommending an emergency use authorization for Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine because they said the safety data was compelling. 

“I voted yes because the data that was presented to us was very strong, the efficacy was consistent across all the age groups,” FDA advisory committee member Dr. James Hildreth, also the president and CEO of Meharry Medical College, told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer Thursday.

“They included people with chronic conditions, which is really important,” Hildreth said. “They also have data on people over 65.”

Fellow advisory committee member, Dr. Hayley Gans agreed.

“I think this is a very exciting moment,” said Gans, a pediatric disease specialist at Stanford Health Care.

“The data that was presented to us was striking in its efficacy,” Gans said. 

“This was a fairly large study and the safety was mostly in the mild, moderate, and that really compelled us to make this positive vote,” she said.  

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices is scheduled to meet on Saturday to recommend who should get the shot and distribution of the vaccine could begin Monday, similar to the way the process worked for the Pfizer vaccine last week.

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New research published Thursday suggests that Covid-19 causes more severe disease than seasonal flu across many metrics.

The death rate for hospitalized Covid-19 patients was three times higher than the death rate for hospitalized flu patients, according to the study. Rates of respiratory failure were also higher in Covid-19 patients than in flu patients.

The research, which appeared in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine, examined data from more than 130,000 French patients hospitalized with either Covid-19 or the flu. Data from Covid-19 patients was compared to data collected through the 2018-2019 flu season. 

In addition to differences in health outcomes, hospital stays varied between those with Covid-19 and the flu. More Covid-19 patients than flu patients needed intensive care, and those with Covid-19 spent on average twice as much time in intensive care than flu patients.

Looking at data from children, those under 18 were hospitalized less frequently from Covid-19 than from influenza, but children under five who were hospitalized with Covid-19 needed intensive care at greater rates than those with flu.

Researchers suggested that immunity, either natural immunity or vaccinations, may account for some of the difference, underscoring the need for Covid-19 prevention.

Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health.

As the US authorizes Covid-19 vaccines for emergency use, the task at hand is to encourage people that getting vaccinated against Covid-19 “is something you want to do for yourself, for your family, for the future of our nation,” Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, said Thursday.

There has been so much misinformation circulating about vaccines that even health care workers are hesitant to get vaccinated, Collins told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer.

Collins warned that if the US does not reach 70 to 80% immunization, “we could lose even more lives and that would be the worst possible kind of tragedy.”

He urged Americans to take the raging coronavirus pandemic seriously.

“Let me plead with Americans,” Collins said, as the number of Covid-19 deaths topped 4,000 on Wednesday and hospitalizations and case numbers continued shattering records.

“Whatever you have come to, as far as the conclusion about your own ability to turn this around, set it aside,” he urged, “and let me talk to you for a minute here.”

“We know that these masks that we are all being asked to wear, they’re not political statements, they are life-saving medical devices,” Collins said.

“We have another couple of dark months ahead of us,” Collins said. “If we don’t do something at this point to try to stop this dreadful upward curve of hospitalizations and cases and deaths. 

More than 310,000 Americans have died of Covid-19 and more than 17.1 million have been infected, according to Johns Hopkins University.

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A trial is being designed to assess whether Covid-19 vaccines can prevent people from carrying the virus, Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, said Thursday.

Both Pfizer and Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccines have shown to prevent some degree of illness from the virus. Moderna said this week that data suggests its vaccine can prevent asymptomatic as well as symptomatic infection.

“Could you still be contagious, even though the vaccine has kept you from getting sick?” Collins asked. “We don’t think that’s likely to be a big deal, but you got to have the data to find out.”

Rep. Cedric Richmond delivers remarks during a House Judiciary Committee markup of H.R. 7120, the "George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2020," on Capitol Hill on June 17 in Washington.

Democratic Rep. Cedric Richmond, incoming White House senior adviser and director of the Office of Public Engagement, tested positive for Covid-19, Kate Bedingfield, spokesperson for President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team, said in a statement.

Richmond traveled to Atlanta Tuesday for campaign event for the Georgia Senate run-off, where Biden was also present. 

According to the transition, his interactions with the President-elect happened in “open air, were masked and totaled less than 15 consecutive minutes, the CDC’s timeframe for close contact.”

Richmond traveled to Georgia on his own and not with the President-elect.

A gravedigger puts a cross over a grave at the Sao Francisco Xavier cemetery on December 16, 2020 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 

Brazil reported 1,092 new Covid-19 deaths on Thursday, the highest number since early September, according to the country’s health ministry. 

The ministry has also reported 69,826 new confirmed cases, bringing the total number of cases to 7,110,434. 

Some perspective: With 184,827 total Covid-19 deaths, Brazil has the deadliest outbreak after the United States. 

In this August 5, 2020 photo, a volunteer is given a Moderna mRNA-1273 Coronavirus Efficacy (COVE) shot during the first COVID-19 vaccine trial in Detroit, Michigan.

The US Food and Drug Administration’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee voted on Thursday to recommend emergency use authorization of Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine.

The FDA will now review the advisory committee’s vote and decide on whether to authorize the emergency use of Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine in the United States among people ages 18 years and older.

That decision could come later Thursday, or within the coming days.

In a rebuke of health officials, a San Diego Superior Court judge has ruled that two strip clubs can remain open despite California’s regional stay-at-home order designed to slow an unprecedented surge of coronavirus.

The complaint filed on behalf of strip clubs Pacers Showgirls International and Cheetahs Gentleman’s Club against the county and California Gov. Gavin Newsom claims adult-oriented entertainment is protected by the Constitution and requires social distancing standards even in pre-pandemic times.

Superior Court Judge Joel Wohlfeil ruled Wednesday that the live adult entertainment businesses don’t present any greater risk of spreading Covid-19 now than before stay-at-home orders were issued.

Wohlfeil also appeared to significantly expand the scope of his ruling, adding that local officials cannot enforce the health restrictions against county restaurants. The judge said there was no evidence provided that showed restaurants operating with health and safety restrictions adds to the risk of spreading Covid-19.

Under the governor’s regional stay-at-home order, restaurants located in regions with less than 15% intensive care unit capacity are allowed to only offer take-out food or delivery. Southern California on Thursday reported 0.0% ICU capacity.

County officials said in response to the ruling they would suspend enforcement of the businesses and determine the next steps.

“The state and the county are analyzing the scope of the ruling and discussing next steps which includes seeking clarity from the court,” San Diego County officials said in a statement. “Until we have clarity, we have suspended enforcement activities against restaurants and live entertainment establishments.”

Newsom’s office said in a statement to CNN, “While we are disappointed in the court’s decision today, we remain steadfast in our commitment to protecting the health and safety of all Californians. Our legal team is reviewing options to determine next steps.”

People wait inside vehicles at a drive-through COVID-19 testing site at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida on December 10, 2020. 

An additional 13,148 Covid-19 cases were reported in Florida on Thursday, according to data from the Florida Department of Health.

Data from Johns Hopkins University shows that this is the highest daily new case count since July 16, when 13,965 cases were reported. 

There were 17,344 new cases reported on Nov. 27 but that accounted for new cases from Nov. 26, when no new cases were reported. 

There are now a total of 1,168,483 total Covid-19 cases in the state, the Florida Covid-19 data dashboard shows.

There were also 104 new coronavirus-related fatalities reported on Thursday, bringing the total number of deaths in the state to 20,594, according to the state’s department of health.

Note: These numbers were released by Florida’s public health agency and may not line up exactly in real-time with CNN’s database drawn from Johns Hopkins University and the Covid Tracking Project. 

People wearing protective masks walk the streets of Baixa district, Lisbon. December 5, 2020. 

Portugal will implement an overnight curfew starting 11 p.m. on New Year’s Eve to curb the spread of coronavirus, Prime Minister António Costa said in a Thursday news conference.

The country will also place restrictions on people leaving their homes between 1 p.m. and 5 a.m. from Jan. 1 through Jan. 3.

Portugal has recorded 362,616 coronavirus cases and 5,902 deaths since the start of the pandemic, according to the latest data from Johns Hopkins University.

Coca-Cola is planning to cut 2,200 jobs, including 1,200 in the United States, as it faces declining sales during the pandemic. 

In the US, where there were about 10,400 employees at the end of last year, the cuts represent roughly 12% of the workforce. In Atlanta, where the company is headquartered, about 500 jobs are being eliminated, the company said Thursday.

The reductions include voluntary and involuntary separations, and the severance packages are expected to cost the company between $350 million and $550 million.

The company announced plans to trim its workforce over the summer, when it said that it was offering buyouts to 4,000 workers in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. 

It also said then that it plans to reduce its number of operating units from 17 businesses in four regions to nine operating units in those areas. Coca-Cola did not share on Thursday which specific units would be affected. 

In the third quarter, Coke’s net revenues declined 9% to $8.7 billion, as the company struggled with lost sales from restaurants — many of which have closed their doors permanently. 

As it looks ahead, the company is focusing on its most popular segments, including its namesake line of beverages like Coke and Coke Zero.  

Coca-Cola said in October that it was canceling 200 brands, or half of its portfolio. Earlier this year, it announced the discontinuation of notable, if unfashionable, brands Odwalla, Zico and Tab. 

About 86,2000 people worked for Coca-Cola worldwide at the close of last year.  

CNN’s Alicia Wallace and David Goldman contributed to this report.

Retail pharmacy CVS plans to start coronavirus vaccine “test dosing” in long-term facilities, skilled nursing facilities, and assisted living facilities Friday and continue throughout the weekend, Dr. Troyen Brennan, chief medical officer for the chain, said Thursday.

“We’ll be doing some test-dosing on Friday, and through the weekend, and then we officially start with maybe a dozen states on the 21st. Another wave goes out the 28th,” Brennan said Thursday during a virtual panel with the US Chamber of Commerce Foundation. 

Additionally, Brennan said teams will be visiting those facilities, “over 40,000 of them,” three different times over the course the next six to nine weeks to do the second follow-up vaccination. 

Travelers wearing protective masks wait in line to go through security at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) in San Francisco, California, U.S., on Monday, Nov. 24, 2020. 

Anyone visiting, moving in, or returning to San Francisco from anywhere outside the Bay Area will now be required to quarantine for 10 days under a new health order intended to slow an unprecedented spread of coronavirus that threatens to overwhelm hospitals, officials announced in a news release on Thursday.

The new health order also strongly discourages any nonessential travel within the 10-county Bay Area region.

The health order comes after officials announced Wednesday the entire San Francisco Bay Area will be under California’s stay-at-home order starting Friday after the region’s intensive care unit capacity plunged below 15%, raising the number of residents under the restrictions to more than 39 million statewide.

Limited exceptions to the quarantine order will apply to people who are traveling for certain critical activities, the release added. Some people, including medical professionals, first responders, workers for official government business, and essential infrastructure workers will be exempt from the new health order. 

The new travel restriction and 10-day mandatory quarantine is “necessary due to rapid and widespread Covid-19 infections and hospitalizations that threaten our region’s ability to provide intensive care for critically ill patients,” the release said.

The travel order will begin Friday at midnight and will remain in effect until Jan. 4. Officials said the order may be extended if the surge continues.

A nurse gives a volunteer an injection as a study of a possible COVID-19 vaccine developed by the National Institutes of Health and Moderna Inc., gets underway in Binghamton, N.Y on July 27, 2020.

In a letter sent to trial participants, Moderna said if the vaccine is authorized, volunteers who got placebo will be given the option to get the vaccine.

“If you would like to know whether you have received the mRNA-1273 vaccine or placebo, then you will be offered the opportunity to be unblinded. Another option would be to stay in the study to continue to capture data in a blinded fashion,” the letter reads.

Blinding means keeping trial participants unaware of whether they have received the vaccine or the placebo. It is considered a gold standard for scientific studies. The company says it will continue to track those participants who choose to take the vaccine.

The full length of the Moderna trial is two years. Unblinding participants and giving them an option to get the vaccine early could mean opportunities to track long-term effects from the vaccine may be lost.

Vaccine advisers to the US Food and Drug Administration asked about this during Thursday’s meeting.

“There’s not only one flavor of study,” said Dr. Lindsey Baden, one of the lead investigators of the Moderna trial and a physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.

“There are other formats of the study that can enable us to learn, particularly to learn about asymptomatic transmission.” Baden pointed to doing nasal swabs and antibody testing as ways to continue to track disease in participants who chose to be unblinded.

“It’s not as if this will take place over six months to a year. This is going to take place over days to week in terms of extending the vaccine supply to additional groups,” she said.

People wait in line to get a Covid-19 test at a testing center in Los Angeles, California on December 16, 2020.

California shattered its record for the highest number of coronavirus deaths in a single day Thursday with 379 new deaths reported, according to data from the California Department of Public Health (CDPH).

The record surpasses the previous all-time high of 293 lives lost reported yesterday.

California also added 52,281 new cases of the virus on Thursday as it continues to see an unprecedented surge in new infections following the Thanksgiving holiday, though state health officials said the figure included an unspecified number of cases from a backlog.

The number was slightly below Wednesday’s 53,711 figure, which included a more than 15,000-case backlog from previous days.

The number of patients hospitalized with the coronavirus continues to quickly rise statewide, placing a strain on the state’s health care system. More than 15,000 patients are currently in the hospital, with over 3,000 patients in intensive care.

More data: The intensive care unit bed capacity in Southern California has plunged to 0.0%, and is hovering at near all-time lows in the San Joaquin Valley at 0.7%, according to CDPH.

More than 98% of the state’s nearly 40 million residents are now under a stay-at-home order that officials hope will slow the unprecedented spread of the virus.

To date, California has reported a total of 1,723,362 cases and 21,860 deaths.

Note: These numbers were released by the California Department of Public Health and may not line up exactly in real-time with CNN’s database drawn from Johns Hopkins University and the Covid Tracking Project. 

An at-home Covid-19 test authorized by the Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday is an exciting development in testing accessibility, FDA Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn told Sen. Tim Scott in an Instagram Live on Thursday. 

The tests, from Australian company Ellume, could be available over the counter, and uses a customer’s smartphone to send test data to doctors. 

“It should be available next month,” Hahn said.

Hahn also spoke to Scott about ensuring marginalized communities have access to and can trust a Covid-19 vaccine. 

“It’s not only a medical imperative that we get to the point where we have herd immunity we have enough people vaccinated, but it’s a moral one as well,” he said. 

“We do in fact need to ensure that our most vulnerable and affected communities have the protection, moving forward to prevent the serious complications of this disease,” Hahn said.

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence speaks during a round table discussion at Catalent Biologics, where COVID-19 vaccine vials are being filled.

Vice President Mike Pence will be vaccinated tomorrow at 8 a.m. ET, his office announced today.

The White House confirmed plans to vaccinate Pence publicly yesterday.

Here’s what the White House said:

People wait in line to get a Covid-19 test at a testing center in Los Angeles, California on December 16.

The explosive spread of Covid-19 in Los Angeles is overwhelming the health care system with record numbers of new cases, hospitalizations, and deaths, in a situation the county’s health director, Barbara Ferrer, calls “untenable.” 

One in every 50 Los Angeles County residents may be infected with Covid-19 at this point as the virus continues to spread out of control in the nation’s most populous county, Ferrer estimated in an interview with Dana Bash on CNN Newsroom.

“This is a post-holiday surge that doesn’t need to be,” Ferrer said. “This is a lot of intermingling that needn’t have happened.”

She blamed three key factors for the explosion of cases: fatigue after several months of modifications, a misunderstanding of what’s safe and what’s not safe, and the politicization of mask wearing.

Ferrer acknowledged the holidays that are upon us, and urged people to spend time only with those in their households, despite the fatigue.

In recent weeks, Los Angeles has consistently broke records for new daily cases, which have been quickly followed by record-high hospitalizations and fatalities. On Thursday, about 65% of the county’s hospitals were on “diversion,” meaning they could no longer accept new patients and had to direct incoming ambulances to other facilities.

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Admiral Brett Giroir, U.S. assistant secretary for health, speaks during an Operation Warp Speed vaccine summit at the White House in Washington DC, on Tuesday, December 8.

The US may ship 7.9 million coronavirus vaccine doses to states in the next week, Adm. Brett Giroir, US Health and Human Services Assistant Secretary, said on a call with reporters Thursday.

“Today, as I’ve said before, the end of the pandemic is in sight,” Giroir said. With two companies making vaccine, that will add to the supply that is slowly being rolled out.

“If the Moderna vaccine is authorized, we expect to ship 7.9 million additional doses of vaccines to states next week,” Giroir said.

On Wednesday, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said 2 million doses of Pfizer’s vaccine and 5.9 million doses of Moderna’s had been allocated for next week, in anticipation of Moderna’s vaccine winning US Food and Drug Administration emergency use authorization by the weekend.

He noted that the vaccination program aims to achieve long-term herd immunity, which might start to happen if 75 to 80% of Americans are immunized.

“This will essentially end the pandemic as we know it,” he predicted.

This illustration, created at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), reveals ultrastructural morphology exhibited by coronaviruses. 

Pennsylvania is reporting 6,346 patients hospitalized, double what it reported in the peak of the spring when the pandemic first took hold, officials said.

Of that number, 1,238 are in the ICU, Pennsylvania Health Department officials said in a news release.

The state reported an additional 9,966 positive cases.

Officials also marked an additional 224 deaths, down from the 278 reported Wednesday, which is the record high of one day additions.

The trend in the 14-day moving average of number of hospitalized patients per day has increased by nearly 5,200 since the end of September, the department noted in the release.

From Dec. 4 to Dec 10, statewide percent positivity was 16.2%.

The most up-to-date daily data is available on the department’s website.

The logo of Pfizer is seen on their headquarters in Manhattan, New York on November 19.

Vaccine maker Pfizer denied Thursday it is experiencing delays in making or shipping its coronavirus vaccine.

Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla tweeted that his company “is not having any production issues with our COVID-19 vaccine, and no shipments containing the vaccine are on hold or delayed.

This week we successfully shipped all 2.9 million doses that we were asked to ship by the U.S. government to the locations specified by them,” he tweeted.

Pfizer said it is confident it can deliver 50 million doses globally this year and up to 1.3 billion doses next year.

Moderna, Inc. headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts on Tuesday, December 15.

Dr. David Martin, the vice president of pharmacovigilance at Moderna, said the company will continue to monitor for allergic events, but hasn’t seen any reactions related to the Covid-19 vaccine during its late-stage clinical trial.

During the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) meeting Thursday, Martin said there were two anaphylaxis reactions among the volunteers in Moderna’s late-stage trial, but the company does not think its vaccine-related. 

One severe allergic reaction was in the placebo group and one was in the group that got the vaccine. 

The allergic reaction in the placebo group happened 10 days after the volunteer got their first dose of the placebo. Doctors believed the allergic reaction was a reaction to a dye used in the placebo.

The person in the vaccine group had a severe allergic reaction 63 days after they got the second dose of the vaccine. This person has a history of asthma and is allergic to shellfish. 

U.S. Vice President-elect Kamala Harris speaks during an event to announce new cabinet nominations at the Queen Theatre on December 11, in Wilmington, Delaware.

Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will receive the Covid-19 vaccine in a public setting, transition officials tell CNN. The exact timing and logistical details remain up in the air. 

President-elect Joe Biden is likely to receive the vaccine early next week and he too, will do it in public.

What is also still unclear is whether both Biden and Harris might receive the vaccine in the same setting. 

The commitment to getting vaccinated in public comes as the incoming Biden administration is focused on building public trust around the coronavirus vaccine as distribution gets underway.

Harris, in particular, has stressed the importance of doing this in communities of color, where there tends to be stronger distrust of vaccines. 

Pedestrians wearing face masks walk past the headquarters of biotechnology company Moderna in Cambridge, Massachusetts on November 16.

Moderna said it will establish a “pregnancy registry” to track pregnancies during clinical trials for its Covid-19 vaccine. 

The company told US Food and Drug Administration vaccine advisers about plans to keep track of people who get vaccinated while pregnant.

“With respect to safety in the event of vaccine exposure during pregnancy, a developmental and reproductive study was completed in December 2020, with no adverse findings,” Dr. David Martin, vice president of pharmacovigilance at Moderna, told FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC).

In documents released earlier this week ahead of the VRBPAC meeting, Moderna said 13 pregnancies were reported through Dec. 2. Six of the pregnancies were in the vaccine arm and seven were in the placebo arm. 

“Given the limited human exposure to date in the phase three trial, we will establish a pregnancy registry that includes a cohort recruited from the general population,” he said.  

French President Emmanuel Macron (R) welcomes Spanish Prime minister Pedro Sanchez prior to a meeting marking the 60th anniversary of the creation of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) at the Elysee palace in Paris, on December 14, 2020.

Spain’s Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, tested negative for Covid-19 on Thursday, his office announced. 

Following Covid-19 protocols, Sánchez will quarantine until Dec. 24 after being in contact with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Dec. 14, a statement released by his office reiterated. 

King Felipe VI of Spain also had to quarantine for a period of ten days at the end of November after being in contact with someone who tested positive for Covid-19.

Mayor Bill de Blasio speaks during a groundbreaking ceremony at Madison Square Park in New York on November 16.

Continuing to beat the drum on what he believes is necessary if numbers don’t turn around, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio suggested restrictions will be necessary, and soon.

“If we don’t turn this around quickly the restrictions are the thing that stop the situation from getting worse,” de Blasio said.

“If you want to avoid them…wear a mask, practice distancing, do not travel, do not have large gatherings, be tough be disciplined,” he said. 

All the metrics are just “too high” and “growing” he warned.

De Blasio said he thinks restrictions need to be put into effect “soon based on the very consistent information we are seeing.” 

“Certainly right after Christmas is a natural moment where the world slows down a little bit,” he said.

As he reiterated, the decision is up to the state and they remain in constant contact.

Moderna Therapeutics headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts on May 18.

Moderna says it will continue to investigate how its Covid-19 vaccine works in different patient populations, beyond the late-stage trial that is currently underway. 

He spoke at the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) meeting that is considering Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use authorization in the United States.

CEO of Health + Hospitals Dr. Mitch Katz attend a press conference on the coronavirus outbreak on March 3, in New York.

New York City Health + Hospitals has suspended elective procedures at its 11 hospitals, according to its CEO.

“We’ve made it clear that the only surgeries we will be doing are surgeries where they come in emergently such as car accidents or surgeries where somebodies health is directly affected such as when somebody has an infection,” CEO Mitch Katz said.

Necessary and emergency surgeries continue however, but consistent with the governor’s request, elective procedures have been canceled, he said.

“We do have the extra 25% capacity the state has asked us for.” Currently occupancy is at 65% in both ICU and in regular medical surgical beds, he said. “One third more patients than the patients we have would easily fit in without opening any extraordinary spaces.”

Katz says the hospitals are already participating in “level loading,” meaning moving patients from full hospitals to other hospitals with more capacity. He remarked that it’s been easier to move patients now because they are not as sick as they were in March or April, and the hospital system is moving them earlier in the process, he said. 

Katz also added that they are committed to getting everybody in the 11 public hospitals vaccinated in three weeks. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits the Maccabi Healthcare Services vaccine complex for COVID-19, in Tel Aviv, Israel, December 13.

The number of daily coronavirus cases in Israel hit 2,802 on Wednesday – way above the 2,500 mark at which lawmakers said tightened restrictions would kick in.

The R-rate – the average number of people infected by a Covid-19-carrying individual – rose to 1.23.

The country’s so-called coronavirus cabinet will meet on Sunday to decide what to do. 

Although a third lockdown is possible, it seems more likely the government will impose additional restrictions on commerce: closing shops, malls and markets that aren’t considered essential. 

The night before the cabinet meets, after the end of the Jewish sabbath, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be the first person in the country to be vaccinated with the Pfizer/BioNTech jab.

In a video message recorded at his home, where he’s self-isolating, he said:

President Reuven Rivlin will follow on Sunday, when he visits health workers at Hadassah Ein Kerem hospital in Jerusalem. 

Along with leading political figures, medical professionals will also be among the first group of Israelis to be vaccinated.

Dr. Tal Zaks, Moderna’s chief medical officer, on December 17.

The Moderna vaccine involves “no further mixing or dilution, while remaining stable for up to 12 hours at room temperature,” Moderna’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Tal Zaks, said on Thursday.

During the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC), Zaks said the manufacturing process “does not use products of animal or human origin, and it does not contain preservatives or adjuvants.”

The Phase 3 study shows “the vaccine efficacy rate for symptomatic Covid-19 infection was 94.1%, with a 95% confidence interval lower bound of 89.3%,” Zaks said.

Moderna says that a reduction in symptomatic cases “predicts a reduction in cases leading to hospitalization, intensive care and death.”

Moderna has done early phase clinical trials on infectious disease for several years, Zaks said. “We have had not seen a significant safety concern in any of our trials to date.”

For the first time in its 70 year history, humanitarian organization UNICEF will help feed people in parts of Britain. 

Calling it a “domestic emergency,” the UN agency said vulnerable children and families are in need of assistance due to the Covid-19 crisis. 

UNICEF director of programmes, Anna Kettley, said:

Children affected by the pandemic will receive breakfast boxes from schools in parts of south London over the Christmas holidays. Families in other parts of the country will receive fresh fruit, vegetable packs and meal kits. 

French Prime Minister Jean Castex attends a press conference in Paris on December 10.

French Prime Minister Jean Castex tested negative for Covid-19 on Thursday morning, according to a statement from the Prime Minister’s office. 

Castex will continue to self-quarantine for seven days following contact with French President Emmanuel Macron, who tested positive for the virus.

Another cabinet minister – Marc Fesneau – will self-quarantine as well, French government spokesperson Gabriel Attal told journalists at BFMTV. 

Meanwhile, the President of the French National Assembly, Richard Ferrand, will also isolate for seven days following contact with Macron. 

“In accordance with the sanitary guidelines in force, the President of the National Assembly is isolating immediately for a seven-day period. He will then do a RTPCR test,” said a statement from the National Assembly. “He will continue to exercise his functions.”

There have been at least 17,000,408 cases of coronavirus in the United States and at least 307,770 people have died from Covid-19 since the pandemic began, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.  

On Dec. 12, the US hit 16 million cases. Five days later, on Dec. 17, the US hit 17 million cases.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee speaks at a press conference in Nashville on December 17.

As the state prepares to administer its first shipment of Covid-19 vaccines, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee is urging all residents to be vigilant and to continue acting responsibly during this pandemic. 

Lee says although today is a historic moment and turning point in this pandemic, the sobering reality is that Tennesseans are getting sicker. 

On Wednesday, the state reported 11,410 new cases, a new record high since the start of the pandemic. Lee said decisions people made over the Thanksgiving holiday is having a severe reality on the hospital system across the state. 

Lee also stated that the vaccine is not a cure for foolish decisions on how we gather, or one’s refusal to wear a mask and it won’t cure the idea that someone else’s decision won’t impact another person’s life.  

Lee said there is darkness before dawn happening in Tennessee and is urging all Tennesseans to recognize and adhere his message. 

Today, the state is expecting 56,550 doses of the Covid-19 vaccine to start arriving to their hospitals statewide. 

Earlier this week, the state Department of Health announced it is holding the first shipment of 975 doses of the Pfizer vaccine as an emergency backup in the event a hospital’s supply is damaged.   

Sandra Lindsay, a nurse at Long Island Jewish Medical Center, is inoculated with the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine by Dr. Michelle Chester in Queens, New York, on December 14.

About 5,200 healthcare workers have been vaccinated so far in New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a Thursday briefing, adding the “numbers are going to grow rapidly each day.”

A total of 42,900 doses have been delivered so far, he said.

“The virus keeps causing us a challenge, the rate of infection keeps going up in this city, hospitalizations keep going up, we’ve got a serious issue here.”

“That’s why we need the vaccine to fight the virus,” he said.

Delaware is set to begin vaccinating staff at three long-term care facilities Thursday, according to the governor’s office.

The state received 7,800 doses Wednesday, and delivered them to three Genesis Healthcare Inc facilities which plan to start vaccinating staff Thursday.

Residents will begin receiving the vaccine the week of Dec. 28, the release said, adding Walgreens and CVS pharmacists are partnering with facilities to vaccinate the residents.

“We are all relieved to see that this vaccine has arrived at our long-term care facilities to protect Delaware’s most vulnerable citizens from COVID-19,” Gov. John Carney said in the Thursday release

“But we’re not through the woods yet. We still face a difficult winter surge of cases and hospitalizations. Stay vigilant until we can widely distribute the vaccine,” he added.

A vial of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine is on a table at Hartford Hospital in Connecticut on December 14.

Ecuador has authorized the use of the Pfizer/BioNtech’s vaccine against Covid-19, the country’s health ministry said in a statement Wednesday, adding that the first doses will arrive in country around January 2021.

Through a “public-private alliance,” the vaccine will be administered to 60% of the population, the statement said.

The plan will be conducted in three phases, beginning with a “pilot” stage consisting of vaccinations for frontline staff and senior living center workers. The following phase, expected end of March or early April, will be to vaccinate health workers, authorities, the vulnerable and “strategic sectors,” the statement adds.

As of Wednesday, Ecuador has reported at least 203,461 confirmed cases of coronavirus, 9,373 confirmed deaths and 4,542 probable deaths. 

Dr. Doran Fink, deputy director of the Clinical Division of Vaccines and Related Products Applications, said medical providers should monitor patients who get the Covid-19 vaccine for an allergic reaction.

Two Alaska health care workers had an allergic reaction minutes after getting the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine earlier this week. Both have recovered. Scientific experts have said that, while possible, allergic reactions should be rare.

“We learned of these cases through established safety surveillance systems that worked exactly as designed,” Fink said at the VRBPAC meeting convened today to consider the authorization of Moderna’s vaccine, which is similar to Pfizer/BioNTech’s.

Fink added that the FDA and the US Centers for Disease Control and prevention are also in touch with public health authorities in the UK. Two health care workers with a history of vaccine allergies also had an allergic reaction to the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. Both are said to have recovered quickly.

Fink said the FDA is working with Pfizer to revise the fact sheets and prescribing information that accompany the vaccine to emphasize the CDC guidelines that require medical providers to monitor people for allergic reactions, and to have medical treatment available immediately if someone does have an allergic reaction. Fink said they will do the same for the Moderna vaccine if it is granted an emergency use authorization.

A system pharmacy clinical manager at Hartford HealthCare prepares the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine in Hartford, Connecticut, on December 14.

Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine candidate is similar to the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine that was authorized and shipped out to the first Americans earlier this week.

But there are a few key differences. Most importantly, Moderna’s vaccine can be stored in normal freezers and does not require a super-cold transportation network, making it more accessible for smaller facilities and local communities.

Here’s a look at what we know about both of them:

Efficacy

Both Moderna’s and the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine have shown similar efficacy levels of near 95%.

“They appear to be roughly equivalent,” said Dr. Paul Offit, a member of the FDA’s vaccine advisory committee, during an appearance on CNN’s “New Day” on Tuesday.

Structure

Both vaccines rely on mRNA, or messenger RNA, to work, although with slightly different structures and makeup.

“Even though they’re both messenger RNA vaccines, they’re really different messenger RNA molecules, they have different so-called lipid delivery systems, meaning the sort of fatty droplet in which the messenger RNA is located,” Offit said on Monday. “That’s why they have different storage and handling characteristics.”

Cold storage

Most importantly, Moderna’s vaccine does not need to be kept at super-cold temperatures, like Pfizer’s.

The Pfizer vaccine needs to be stored at about minus-75 degrees Celsius, about 50 degrees colder than any vaccine currently used in the US. The vaccine can be put in the refrigerator for only up to five days before it expires.

To accommodate that, the CDC created a complex set of handling and storage requirements known as the “cold chain” that included expensive ultra-cold freezers and lots of dry ice.

In contrast, Moderna’s vaccine can be kept at about minus-20 degrees Celsius, or about the temperature of a home freezer, according to Moncef Slaoui, the head of the US effort to develop a vaccine for Covid-19. Moderna’s vaccine can also be kept in a refrigerator for 30 days before it expires.

“So that’s more manageable and much more commonly available,” Slaoui said Tuesday.

These differences suggest that Pfizer’s vaccine may be used more for major institutions with established infrastructure like hospitals, while Moderna’s may be more useful to smaller facilities like a local chain or pharmacist.

Dosage and timing

Moderna’s vaccine is administered as two 100-microgram doses given 28 days apart. Pfizer’s vaccine is administered as two 30-microgram doses given 21 days apart.

Age

If authorized, the Moderna vaccine would be used in people 18 and older, while the Pfizer vaccine was authorized for people 16 and older.

You can read more about both both vaccines here.

The stock market opened solidly higher Thursday even as evidence mounts of trouble in the jobs market.

The Dow jumped 150 points, or 0.5%.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq both gained 0.6% to intraday record highs.

The rally comes despite grim news on the economic front as the pandemic intensifies. The Labor Department said another 885,000 people filed for first-time unemployment benefits last week. That was well above what economists were bracing for.

The good news is that Congressional leaders continue to make progress on a federal relief package aimed at stabilizing the economy.

Jason Garrett, offensive coordinator for the New York Giants, looks on before a game in Seattle on December 6.

New York Giants offensive coordinator Jason Garrett has tested positive for Covid-19, according to a statement released by the NFL team Thursday. 

The team says Garrett will continue to work remotely, and tight ends coach Freddie Kitchens will call the Giants’ offensive plays this weekend.

The 5-8 Giants currently sit 2nd in the NFC East and will face the 9-4 Cleveland Browns – 2nd in the AFC North – on Sunday night.

French President Emmanuel Macron, left, welcomes Angel Gurría, secretary-general of the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development, in Paris on December 14.

Angel Gurria, Secretary General of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, is the latest official to go into quarantine following contact with French President Emmanuel Macron.

The OECD chief tweeted: “My thoughts are with President Emmanuel Macron for a speedy recovery. In light of his involvement in the OECD’s 60th Anniversary on Monday & following medical protocols, I am quarantining & testing. All relevant steps are being taken to safeguard the wellbeing of guests & staff.”

On Monday, Macron attended a lunch marking the 60th anniversary of the OECD where he met with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, European Council President Charles Michel and OECD Secretary General Angel Gurria who are all now in quarantine.

French first lady Brigitte Macron and Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa are also in quarantine.

A nurse in Binghamton, New York, gives a volunteer an injection as a study for a possible Covid-19 vaccine, developed by the National Institutes of Health and Moderna, gets underway on July 27.

The US Food and Drug Administration’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee will hold a virtual meeting today to consider emergency use authorization of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine.

That meeting was set to begin at 9 a.m. ET.

The FDA has already telegraphed that a quick emergency use authorization can be expected and this one could go through even faster than the EUA for Pfizer last week – itself a speedy process.

Here’s why: The Moderna vaccine is very similar to Pfizer’s and BioNTech’s vaccine. Both use a new approach involving genetic material known as messenger RNA or mRNA.

“Really, they do seem quite similar,” added Malkin, who has studied both the Pfizer and the Moderna data.

“I think they are very likely to authorize it quickly.”

The US job market continues to suffer, and Thursday brought bad news. Another 885,000 people filed for first-time unemployment benefits last week – an increase from the week prior and higher than the 800,000 claims that economists were expecting. 

The latest figures, which are adjusted for seasonal factors and reported by the Labor Department, are particularly grim since last week’s numbers were revised up to 862,000. And even before the revision, that week had been the highest level since mid-September. 

The report comes at a tenuous time for America’s economy. 

The last round of Covid-related financial aid from Washington has run out, and Congress is trying to deliver another stimulus package to struggling consumers and businesses in the lame duck session before Joe Biden is inaugurated.

Economists and investors are excited about the prospects for a rebound in 2021 now that there is an approved coronavirus vaccine that a few have already received. But many Americans still need help now, a fact not lost on Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen arrives for a press statement in Brussels, Belgium, on December 13.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Thursday that vaccinations will start across the European Union on Dec. 27, 28 and 29.

Von der Leyen made the statement on Twitter, describing it as “Europe’s moment.” 

A deceased patient in a body bag is seen on November 29 in the Covid-19 intensive care unit at United Memorial Medical Center in Houston.

An ensemble forecast published Thursday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now projects there will be 357,000 to 391,000 coronavirus deaths in the United States by Jan. 9.

Unlike some individual models, the CDC’s ensemble forecast only offers projections a few weeks into the future. The previous ensemble forecast, published Dec. 10, projected up to 362,000 coronavirus deaths by Jan. 2.

At least 307,512 people have already died from Covid-19 in the United States, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

A second Alaska health care worker has suffered an allergic reaction after receiving the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine. 

Although there have been no widespread reports of adverse reactions nationwide, this marks the second in the same hospital system. It is unclear if there is any other connection between the two incidents.

According to a statement from Bartlett Regional Hospital in Juneau: “A second staff member experienced eye puffiness, light headedness, and scratchy throat 10 minutes after being injected with the vaccine.” The hospital added that the reaction “was not considered anaphylaxis.” 

The statement added that the worker was taken to the emergency room and given epinephrine, Pepcid and Benadryl. “He felt completely back to normal within an hour and was released,” it said.

The hospital system previously reported a reaction in a female health care worker who “showed signs of an anaphylactic reaction, with increased heartbeat, shortness of breath and skin rash and redness,” about 10 minutes after receiving the vaccine. She had no known history of having any allergic reactions to vaccines, according to the hospital.

She was given epinephrine and Benadryl, and remained in the hospital overnight for observation, said Dr. Lindy Jones, Bartlett’s Emergency Department Medical Director.

Both incidents were reported to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state health authorities.

The number of coronavirus cases recorded in Gaza hit a new high on Wednesday, as an additional 1,015 Palestinians came down with Covid-19 over 24 hours. There were 12 more deaths, bringing the total to 232 since the pandemic hit the enclave in March. 

According to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, 31,161 people have now been infected with the virus. This includes 9,109 active cases, out of a total population of 2 million.

“We have entered a very difficult wave of Covid in Gaza,” says Yousif AlAqqad, Head of the European Hospital for Coronavirus in the Strip. He expressed concern about the lack of oxygen available for patients, saying they only had enough for 200 serious cases. Staff, he said, were being stretched to the limit.  

In the West Bank, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said there were 1,262 new cases on Wednesday, out of almost 7,000 tests – meaning that almost one in five tests came back positive. In Gaza, positivity rates remain even higher, standing currently at just over 30%. 

The bodies of coronavirus victims can stay infectious for days after their death, German researchers reported Wednesday.

It’s a small study involving very sick patients, the team at University Medical Center Hamburg reported, and further research is needed.

The team tested the bodies of 11 people who died of Covid-19 at their hospital, and swabbed the noses looking for coronavirus at regular intervals from 12 hours after death up to seven days later.

“We demonstrated maintained infectivity of SARS-CoV-2 in tissues of deceased patients. SARS-CoV-2 RNA persisted over time at constantly high titers,” they added. “Taken together, our data indicate potentially high infectivity of human corpses, requiring hazard assessments in professional fields concerned and careful and conscious handling.”

Japan’s capital, Tokyo, reported 822 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, marking the highest single-day rise in cases since the start of the pandemic, according to the Tokyo metropolitan government (TMG).

The increase also marks the second consecutive day that the city topped its daily case record. Of the total 822 cases, 122 case are elderly, aged 65 or older, TMG added.

Separately, Tokyo’s expert panel for monitoring the pandemic said it has raised the alert level on the medical system to Level 4, the highest category, signaling that the medical system is under strain.

“It is now difficult to run the medical service for both coronavirus infection and ordinary medical needs as the coronavirus infection keep increasing” said Masataka Inoguchi, Deputy Chairman of the Tokyo Medical Association.

Earlier in the week, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga expressed “remorse” for attending a group dinner with celebrity friends in apparent breach of his own government’s coronavirus guidelines.

Suga appeared to disregard those guidelines on Monday by attending a gathering with seven guests, who were all over the age of 70, at a high-end steak restaurant in Tokyo’s Ginza district.

Pope Francis celebrates Holy Mass for the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe in St. Peter's Basilica on December 12.

Pope Francis has renewed his appeal for universal access to Covid-19 vaccines and called for a “culture of care” in 2021.

The Pope made the comments in a message published Thursday for the World Day of Peace, celebrated January 1.

“I renew my appeal to political leaders and the private sector to spare no effort to ensure access to Covid-19 vaccines and to the essential technologies needed to care for the sick, the poor and those who are most vulnerable,” the Pope wrote.

The document, entitled “A Culture of Care as a Path to Peace,” says that the events of the past year “have taught us how important it is to care for one another and for creation.”

Francis says that alongside the solidarity we have seen this year, “we have also seen a surge in various forms of nationalism, racism and xenophobia and wars and conflicts that bring only death and destruction in their wake.”

The Pope also renewed his appeal for a “Global Fund” in which the “money spent on weapons and other military expenditures” would instead go to helping to eliminate hunger and assist developing countries.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is going into quarantine until December 24 after French President Emmanuel Macron tested positive for coronavirus Thursday, Spain’s foreign ministry told CNN.

The two men had lunch on Monday.

“After hearing the information given by the Elysee Palace that … Macron tested positive for Covid-19, the head of the government, Pedro Sanchez will suspend all his activities programmed for the next few days, according to health guidelines,” a ministry spokeswoman said.

French Prime Minister Jean Castex also said he was planning to quarantine for seven days.

European Council President Charles Michel is going into quarantine “as a precaution,” the Council’s spokesperson Barend Leyts said.

Michel attended a lunch on Monday with Macron but “was informed by the French authorities that he is not considered to be a close contact,” Leyts said.

Michel “is tested regularly and tested negative on Tuesday,” the spokesperson added.

Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa is going into quarantine and canceling events that require his presence after meeting Macron on Wednesday, a statement from his office said.

Costa took a pre-scheduled Covid-19 test on Thursday and is awaiting results. He is showing no symptoms and is continuing to perform his duties virtually, the statement added.

French first lady Brigitte Macron is protectively going into quarantine but has “presented no symptoms” and tested negative for Covid-19 on Tuesday, her office said in a statement sent to French media.

Other European leaders have taken to social media to pass on their good wishes.

“I wish you a quick recovery. I am wholeheartedly with you,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Twitter. “This pandemic, we are going to defeat it together. We will continue to work hand in hand to immunize and protect our citizens.”

Police surround Flemington public housing flats in Melbourne, Australia, on July 4.

An official investigation has found that a “hard lockdown” of nine public housing towers in Melbourne, Australia “breached human rights,” according to a report tabled in Victoria state parliament on Thursday.

The report from the Victorian Ombudsman, the official investigator into government complaints, found that the “timing of the lockdown of North Melbourne and Flemington public housing towers on July 4 was not based on direct health advice and violated Victorian human rights laws.”

The hard lockdown impacted around 3,000 people in nine public housing towers in Australia’s second largest city.

These residents were not allowed to leave their homes for any reason due to Covid-19 outbreaks in the densely populated buildings.

The hard lockdown orders came from Victorian state Premier Daniel Andrews.

In her probe into the restrictions, Victorian Ombudsman, Deborah Glass found that senior health officials agreed on the morning of Saturday, July 4 that the towers should be locked down to control the outbreak.

However, she noted that the senior health officials anticipated “a next-day start to allow planning for food supplies and other logistics.”

But Andrews held a media conference at 4 p.m. that day and announced an immediate lockdown, Glass said in the report.

“Many residents knew nothing of the lockdown or the reason for it when large numbers of police appeared on their estate that afternoon,” Glass said.

She added that her investigation found that “initially there was chaos. Some people were without food and medicines.”

Glass added that the lockdown was lifted at eight of the nine towers after five days. But residents at the remaining tower, 33 Alfred St., where infection rates were highest, were detained for another nine days.

Some residents in that tower waited more than a week to be allowed outside under supervision for fresh air, Glass noted in her report.

“The rushed lockdown was not compatible with the residents’ human rights, including their right to humane treatment when deprived of liberty,” she added.

The Ombudsman recommended the Victorian Government apologize to the residents, acknowledging the “impact of their immediate detention on their health and wellbeing”.

“In my opinion, based on the evidence gathered by the investigation, the action appeared to be contrary to the law,” Glass said. The Victorian Ombudsman has no legal power.

Claus Kaminsky, mayor of Hanau, speaks during a memorial event on February 4 in Hanau, Germany.

For the first since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, a German town has acknowledged it has had to activate mobile refrigerated containers after hospital morgues became overwhelmed by an increasing number of deaths.

“We are forced for the first time to use the cooling container for coronavirus deaths because the clinics in Hanau are overwhelmed,” Claus Kaminsky – the mayor of the town of Hanau near Frankfurt – wrote on his Twitter feed.

“It is extremely sad that we are in this horrible situation,” Kaminsky added. 

According to a statement from the city, Hanau has been renting the unit since April but has never had to activate it until now.

“Mayor Claus Kaminsky regrets a further escalation of the pandemic situation,” the statement added. “This has led to the cooling container at the main cemetery in Hanau having to be used for the first time for two COVID-19 fatalities.”

Germany is currently seeing a major surge in coronavirus infections and deaths.

On Tuesday the country’s center for disease control recorded its highest ever single-day death toll, with 952 fatalities reported.

About 3 million people – most of them elderly – live in nursing homes, assisted living centers and group homes, where more than 105,000 residents have died of Covid-19. They should be among the first Americans to receive vaccines, along with health care workers, according to recommendations from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and various state plans.

But long-term care residents’ participation in the fastest and most extensive vaccination effort in US history is clouded by a significant complication: More than half have cognitive impairment or dementia.

This raises a number of questions. Will all older adults in long-term care understand the details of the vaccines and be able to consent to getting them? If individual consent isn’t possible, how will families and surrogate decision-makers get the information they need on a timely basis?

And what if surrogates don’t agree with the decision an elderly person has made and try to intervene?

“Imagine that the patient, who has some degree of cognitive impairment, says ‘yes’ to the vaccine but the surrogate says ‘no’ and tells the nursing home, ‘How dare you try to do this?” said Alta Charo, a professor of law and bioethics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School.

Read the full story:

POMPANO BEACH, FLORIDA - DECEMBER 16: Vera Leip, 88, receives a Pfizer-BioNtech COVID-19 vaccine from Christine Philips, RN Florida Department of Health in Broward County, at the John Knox Village Continuing Care Retirement Community on December 16, 2020 in Pompano Beach, Florida. The facility, one of the first in the country to do so, vaccinated approximately 170 people including healthcare workers and elder care people. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Related article Vaccines are on the way, and nursing homes need to get residents to them

South Korea’s capital, Seoul, has recorded its first case of a Covid-19 infected patient dying while waiting for a hospital bed on Tuesday, as the city faces a shortage, officials said on Thursday.

The deceased was a man in his sixties who had tested positive for the coronavirus on Saturday and reported mild symptoms, which included an itchy throat, Seoul’s Dongdaemun district office said.

Seoul city had around 30 new cases arising from the Dongdaemun district on Saturday.

Based on his symptoms, he was low priority for a transfer to a hospital bed and was left at home to recover, the Dongdaemun district office said.

But, his symptoms worsened on Monday and the Dongdaemun district once again requested Seoul city for his hospitalization.

Apart from having the coronavirus, he also had pre-existing conditions which included diabetes and high blood pressure.

While waiting for a bed, the man died in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

Seoul city officials say they are looking into why the deceased wasn’t given a bed on Monday.

Seoul city added two more beds to accommodate rising coronavirus cases after announcing on Wednesday that 77 out of the total 78 beds were occupied.

Despite the addition, now 79 out of 80 Covid-19 dedicated ICU beds in the city are currently occupied, Seoul authorities said Thursday.

Though this case is a first for Seoul city, the nation’s Health Ministry says this is not the first for the country. The ministry also confirmed it is looking into recording how many patients may have died while waiting for a transfer to a hospital.

Russian President Vladimir Putin holds via video his annual press conference at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow on December 17.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is 68, said Thursday he still hasn’t been vaccinated with a Russian coronavirus vaccine Sputnik V as it’s not yet advised for people older than 60.

“The vaccines that are being circulated among the general population today are intended for people in a certain age group, and the vaccines have not yet reached people like me,” Putin said during his annual press conference. “I’m a law-abiding citizen in that matter, I listen to the recommendations of our specialists and so far haven’t taken it. But I will do it as soon as it becomes a possibility.”

Russia registered Sputnik V in August ahead of key large-scale Phase 3 trials necessary to establish the vaccine’s efficacy and safety, drawing skepticism both in Russia and internationally. According to the product description, the vaccine is recommended to people aged 18-60 and is not advised to people with a number of chronic diseases and health conditions.

“I think it’s necessary to [have mass vaccination], specialists across the world say that mass vaccination is one of the very few ways to overcome this pandemic, it should create population immunity,” Putin said. “And I repeat that our vaccine is effective and safe so I see no reason not to vaccinate.”

Sputnik V’s Phase 3 trials are currently ongoing, but the country is already moving towards mass vaccination with the Russian Direct Investment Fund, which sponsored the vaccine’s development, saying that over 200,000 Russians have been inoculated as of December 14.

During the press conference, Putin also touched upon production challenges that Russia is facing, saying the country so far does not have enough “hardware” to manufacture the necessary amount of the vaccine and is working to increase the number of capable production sites.

Singapore and Vietnam are set to finalize a “green lane” travel arrangement by early next year, the Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said in a press release on Tuesday.

Representatives from the two countries held the 13th Singapore-Vietnam Bilateral Consultations via videoconference on December 15 and discussed “resuming air connectivity and facilitating travel between both countries,” among other pandemic related issues, the press release stated.

“Both sides agreed to expeditiously conclude ongoing discussions to facilitate essential business and official travel through a Green Lane arrangement,” the release added.

The MFA said officials from both countries have been tasked to finalize the “Green Lane agreement” by early 2021.

Singapore will be among the first few countries with which Vietnam will resume regularized essential business and official travel, the MFA added.

Read more about Singapore’s travel plans here:

Singapore Airlines passenger plane is towed to the terminal area of Changi International Airport in Singapore on December 7, 2020. (Photo by Roslan RAHMAN / AFP) (Photo by ROSLAN RAHMAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Related article Singapore announces plans to allow entry to business travelers from all countries

Emmanuel Macron, the French President, has tested positive for coronavirus, the Elysee Palace said in a statement Thursday. 

“The President of the Republic has been diagnosed positive for Covid-19 today,” the statement said.

“This diagnosis was made following an RTPCR test performed at the onset of the first symptoms,” it added.

“In accordance with current health regulations applicable to all, the President of the Republic will isolate himself for 7 days. He continues to work and carry out his activities remotely.”

The United States on Wednesday reported record numbers for Covid-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths, ahead of a key meeting for what could be the country’s second coronavirus vaccine to get the green light. 

The first vaccinations and possible emergency use authorization for Moderna are all good news. But the pandemic raging in the US is still far from over – and more brutal than ever.

Rising cases: While there’s been some progress in slowing the spread of the virus in the northern and central US, according to the White House coronavirus task force, cases are still surging in more populated states. 

Travel decisions: Americans have important choices to make: the upcoming holidays could help drive another surge of cases, hospitalizations and, inevitably, deaths, if people opt to travel and gather again. 

California: As Los Angeles County health officials continue to report exploding case numbers, health services director Dr. Christina Ghaly attributed the surge to residents gathering over the Thanksgiving holiday despite repeated pleas to stay home. 

And the worst is yet to come, Ghaly added, saying “we are still in for a very rough few weeks at least, and potentially through January.”

Northeast and Midwest: Governors across these regions issued a video message this week encouraging residents to “double down” on safety measures and reconsider their holiday plans.

Curfews: In hopes of helping curb the spread around the holidays, El Paso County Judge Ricardo Samaniego announced curfews from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. lasting from December 23 to December 26 and from December 30 to January 4. 

Read more about the outbreak in the US:

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - DECEMBER 15: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY) Audrey Jones discusses treatment with a COVID-19 patient at Roseland Community Hospital on December 15, 2020 in Chicago, Illinois. Roseland Community Hospital is situated in the Roseland neighborhood on the city's far south side. The neighborhood's population is 95 percent black. The COVID-19 death rate among black residents in Chicago is nearly double that of the city's white residents. This week the United States recorded it's 300,000 COVID-19 related death. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Related article US sets Covid-19 case, hospitalization and death records ahead of key meeting for Moderna's vaccine candidate

Saudi Arabia’s health minister received a dose of Covid-19 vaccination on Thursday, kicking off the kingdom’s mass vaccination drive. 

Tawfiq Al Rabiah, the Minister of Health, appeared on state television receiving his shot.

At-risk groups will be the first in line for the vaccine, including frontline workers, those aged over 65, and people with pre-existing chronic conditions.

The country’s Health Ministry announced that the vaccination effort would take place in three stages, targeting specific groups, and inoculation would be free for all citizens and residents.

On Wednesday, 150,000 people had signed up to take the vaccine via an app, according to the Health Ministry.

Saudi Arabia’s Food and Drug Authority approved the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine registration on December 10, according to state news agency SPA.

Wales’ Public Health Department said it expects to report nearly 11,000 new Covid-19 cases Thursday that will include a large backlog of samples processed between December 9 and 15.

On Wednesday, Wales reported 530 new Covid-19 cases.

The country’s total number of cases stands at 103,098. Wales is currently at “Alert Level 3” of a four-tier system, according to the Welsh government.

Snow falls in front of the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on December 16.

For the first time in months there were small signs of a functioning US government Wednesday as congressional leaders negotiated a Covid-19 relief package and millions of vaccine doses were shipped out under the watchful eye of officials with Operation Warp Speed while carrying out contingency planning for delays due to the winter storm.

It was a glimmer of hope for progress after four years in which President Donald Trump has sowed dysfunction at every turn, a sign that perhaps America can eventually move beyond his politics of destruction.

Covid stimulus package: Congressional leaders from both parties said they were making progress in crafting a package after months of a stalemate.

The two most controversial sticking points – Covid-19 liability protections for corporations and businesses and direct aid to state and local governments that are struggling with lost revenue and decimated budgets after this year’s closures – have largely been set aside from the main consensus package.

That has allowed negotiators to focus on how much they should spend on direct payments to struggling Americans. 

With an overarching price tag of around $900 billion, the package is expected to include an additional $300 a week in jobless benefits and $330 billion for small business loans, as well as for critically needed funds for schools and vaccine distribution throughout the country.

Members are weighing whether to issue a new round of stimulus checks to Americans, $600 per individual, an amount that some progressive members, including Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, view as insufficient.

Read the full analysis:

People walk past the US Capitol in Washington, DC on December 16, 2020. - Congressional leaders on December 16, 2020 said they were nearing a long-awaited agreement on a stimulus package for the US economy, while the Federal Reserve is set to provide updated forecasts on an uncertain outlook.A federal relief package to aid struggling business and jobless workers is seen as essential in getting the world's largest economy back on its feet amid a resurgence of Covid-19 infections. (Photo by Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images)

Related article Analysis: Glimmers of progress in stimulus negotiations as Trump's election sideshow drags on

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern (right) and Minister for Covid-19 Response Chris Hipkins (center) speak to the media at Auckland University in New Zealand, on December 17.

New Zealand announced Thursday the signing of two new Covid-19 vaccine deals, this time with manufacturers AstraZeneca and Novavax, vowing “every New Zealander will be able to be vaccinated.”

The deals secure access to 7.6 million doses from AstraZeneca – enough for 3.8 million people, and 10.72 million doses from Novavax – enough for 5.36 million people, according to a New Zealand government statement Thursday.

The vaccine news coincided with the Thursday announcement of a 14% rise in New Zealand’s GDP over the September quarter.

The United States reported a record-high number of new Covid-19 cases and deaths on Wednesday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University (JHU).  

The nation confirmed 247,357 new Covid-19 infections and 3,656 new deaths Wednesday, according to JHU.

As of December 16, 113,069 patients are hospitalized with Covid-19 – the highest number of hospitalizations seen across the US since the beginning of the pandemic, according to the latest data from the COVID Tracking Project.

The nationwide totals now stand at 16,979,762 cases, with at least 307,501 virus-related fatalities, according to JHU.

The totals include cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and other US territories, as well as repatriated cases. 

The days with the highest number of new cases according to JHU data are: 

CNN is tracking the US cases:

Members of aid organizations stand in the entrance area of the joint vaccination center of the city and district of Würzburg, Germany on December 16.

Germans could start receiving the Covid-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech by December 27, subject to the EU granting regulatory approval, according to state documents.

Elderly people in retirement homes will be one of the first vulnerable groups at the front of the queue to receive the vaccine. 

Germany has recently seen a surge in Covid-19 infections, hospitalizations, and deaths. On Thursday, the country’s center for disease control reported 26,923 new cases and 698 deaths.

People socially distance as they queue to access a coronavirus PCR testing centre in Tokyo, on December 11.

The Japanese capital Tokyo reported another highest daily rise in Covid-19 cases, with 678 new infections on Wednesday, according to the city’s metropolitan government. 

Tokyo’s intensive care units are 35% full, with 69 patients in a serious condition, the city’s government said Thursday. There are 618 patients in ICUs across Japan, according to Japan’s Health Ministry.

Hard-hit Osaka recorded 396 new Covid-19 cases Wednesday, the Health Ministry said.

Nationwide, there were 2,988 new Covid-19 cases and 51 deaths recorded Wednesday. Total infections stand at 187,815 cases, with 2,752 deaths.

Japan has been grappling with a new wave of infections and hospitalizations as cold winter temperatures set in. Winter was always expected to bring a spike in cases, as cold weather sends people indoors to poorly ventilated spaces – conditions likely to make coronavirus spread more easily.

Cases have been rising steadily since the start of last month. On November 1, just over 600 cases were reported. Some 20 days later there were more than 2,500 daily infections.

PM’s “remorse”: For weeks, Japanese health officials have urged citizens to reduce their daily activities, remain vigilant and only dine out in small numbers to curb a resurgent winter Covid-19 wave.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga this week came under fire for attending a dinner party with celebrity friends in an apparent breach of his own government’s coronavirus guidelines, an act he expressed “remorse” for.

Read more on Japan’s outbreak:

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga speaks during a news conference after a Parliament session in Tokyo on December 4, 2020. (Photo by Hiro Komae / POOL / AFP) (Photo by HIRO KOMAE/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Related article Japanese leader appears to flout virus guidelines as infections surge

WHO Regional Director for Western Pacific Takeshi Kasai addresses the media in Manila, Philippines, on October 7, 2019.

Although promising, vaccines “will not stop the virus” and are not a “silver bullet” to ending the pandemic, a top World Health Organization official told a news conference hosted on Zoom Thursday. 

Dr. Takeshi Kasai, WHO regional director for the Western Pacific, made the comments as he was giving an update on the region’s progress in dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic. 

When asked by CNN when the world could hope to go back to normal, Kasai said that “the answer to this question depends on all of us. And the individual actions that we take now and into the future.”

He said the initial number of vaccines will be limited and that high-risk groups should be prioritized.

While the Americas and Europe were facing challenging Covid-19 situations, Kasai said the Western Pacific had fared “comparatively well” but should “keep preparing for the worst case scenario.”

Younger people are getting infected: Dr. Babatunde Olowokure, WHO Western Pacific regional emergency director, added that the trend of infections had shifted from older generations to the 20-29 age group because of “increased mobility” following the relaxation of restrictions, and also because of a “low level of perceived threat in young people” leading to “complacency.”

Olowokure added that the death toll remained highest for people aged over 80.

Although the Western Pacific was doing well in global terms, Olowokure also said that the “seven-day moving average is showing upward trends in our region” with the most notable increases of infections in South Korea, Japan and Malaysia. 

The southern shore of the island of Oahu is seen on October 22, in Honolulu.

People flying to Hawaii without proof of a negative Covid-19 test will have their quarantine time cut starting Thursday.

Gov. David Ige ordered that the mandatory quarantine be reduced from 14 days to 10 days.

Travelers from the US mainland and a few foreign countries can avoid the quarantine if they obtain a negative coronavirus test from an approved health care provider within 72 hours before travel.

A general view of fans at Rod Laver Arena watching the men's singles final match between Novak Djokovic of Serbia and Dominic Thiem of Austria at the Australian Open Grand Slam tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia, on February 2.

One of the biggest tournaments in the tennis calendar – the Australian Open – will begin on February 8, three weeks later than planned, the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) confirmed today.

The delay of the grand slam comes after weeks of intense negotiations between the state government of Victoria and tournament organizers, Tennis Australia, over Covid-19 safety and quarantine requirements.

On Thursday, the ATP announced that players would have to quarantine for 14 days on arrival in Melbourne, in compliance with Australian travel rules.

However a “controlled environment” will allow players to prepare for their matches while quarantining, the ATP said.

Players will travel to Melbourne between January 15 and 31 after the Australian Open qualifying rounds are played in Doha, Qatar. 

The Australian Open was originally scheduled to start on January 18.

Secretary of Interior David Bernhardt speaks during a dedication ceremony for The Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial in Washington, DC, on September 17.

Interior Secretary David Bernhardt tested positive for Covid-19 on Wednesday, becoming the latest prominent member of President Donald Trump’s administration to contract the coronavirus.

Bernhardt’s positive test was first reported by The Washington Post.

Bernhardt is the latest member of the President’s Cabinet to test positive for the virus, joining Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, who was hospitalized last month. The interior secretary was not present at a Cabinet meeting with Trump on Wednesday.

Read more:

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 28: David Bernhardt, President Donald Trump's nominee to be Interior Secretary, testifies during a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee confirmation hearing on March 28, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Zach Gibson/Getty Images)

Related article Interior Secretary David Bernhardt tests positive for Covid-19

Sinopharm’s Covid-19 vaccine trials can resume in Peru, the country’s Health Minister Pilar Mazzetti announced Wednesday.

On Saturday, Peru’s clinical trials of the Sinopharm vaccine were temporarily suspended by the Peruvian National Institute of Health after a 64-year-old patient, with a history of diabetes, reported a decrease in muscle strength in his legs.

German Malaga, the head of clinical trials at Sinopharm laboratories in Peru, said at the time that the reason for the symptoms had not yet been determined.

Mazzetti gave no further details on Wednesday as to whether or not the patient’s symptoms were linked to the vaccine candidate.  

Health authorities in Sydney, Australia have issued a Covid-19 public health alert after diagnosing the first cases of community transmission since December 3.

Five community cases of Covid-19 have been discovered in Sydney since Wednesday, according to New South Wales’ health department.

Just one of the five cases can be traced – a 40-year-old bus driver who ferried airline crews to and from their hotels. 

The four mystery cases are all located in Sydney’s Northern Beaches area. Two were diagnosed on Wednesday and a further two on Thursday.

Residents in the area responded to a call for increased testing with long queues at clinics on Thursday morning.

The Berejiklian government took the added step on Thursday of canceling visits for elderly care homes on the Northern Beaches.

“We’re recommending no visitors until we identify the source of infection and feel more confident that we have it under control,” she said.

New South Wales has recorded a total of 4,477 cases of Covid-19 since the beginning of the pandemic, according to the local health department.

South Korea reported 22 deaths related to Covid-19 on Wednesday, the highest single-day total of the pandemic, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).

For the second consecutive day, the country also reported more than 1,000 new Covid-19 infections, with 1,014 cases, the KDCA said in a news release.

Of those, 993 were local cases and 21 were imported.

The vast majority of the new infections – 784 – were in the Seoul metropolitan area. 

The latest tally brings total cases in the country to 46,453 and 634 deaths.

Vaccine advisers to the US Food and Drug Administration are scheduled to meet Thursday to discuss the second coronavirus vaccine aimed at the US market, this one made by biotechnology company Moderna.

The FDA has already telegraphed that a quick emergency use authorization can be expected and this one could go through even faster than the EUA for Pfizer last week – itself a speedy process.

The Moderna vaccine is very similar to Pfizer’s and BioNTech’s vaccine. Both use a new approach involving genetic material known as messenger RNA or mRNA.

The technology does not require the actual virus to make the vaccine – simply the genetic code, which is used to trick the body into making little bits that look like the outside “spike” protein of the virus, prompting an immune response.

Both have shown about 95% efficacy in preventing disease, both appear very safe and both have been tested in tens of thousands of volunteers across the US and the world.

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci said Wednesday he hopes the FDA will issue an EUA Thursday.

“Tomorrow, the FDA will hopefully make a decision regarding whether or not the Moderna messenger RNA vaccine will get an emergency use authorization,” Fauci said on CNBC.

Read the full story:

In this image courtesy of the Henry Ford Health System, volunteers are given the Moderna mRNA-1273 Coronavirus Efficacy (COVE), on August 5, 2020, in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by -/Henry Ford Health System/AFP via Getty Images)

Related article Expect a quicker authorization of Moderna's coronavirus vaccine

The United States reported 113,069 Covid-19 hospitalizations on Wednesday, setting a new record high since the pandemic began, according to the Covid Tracking Project (CTP).

This is the 15th consecutive day that the US has remained above 100,000 hospitalizations.

According to CTP data, these days recorded the highest hospitalization numbers:

The White House coronavirus task force is warning this week that while there has been some progress in slowing the spread of the pandemic in the northern and central United States, cases are still surging in more populated states.

The reports offered another week of bleak assessments, saying, “The fall surge is merging with the post-Thanksgiving surge to create a winter surge with the most rapid increase in cases; the widest spread, with more than 2,000 counties in COVID red zones; and the longest duration, now entering the 9th week, we have experienced.”

Despite that surge and a “threat to the hospital systems,” the task force warned that “many state and local governments are not implementing the same mitigation policies that stemmed the tide of the summer surge,” citing indoor gatherings at home and calling for a “significant reduction in capacity or closure in public and private indoor spaces, including restaurants and bars.”

Americans, the reports said, should “(understand) the clear risks of ANY family or friend interactions outside of their immediate household indoors without masks.” That behavior has not been modeled by the White House, however, amid dozens of indoor holiday parties over the past two weeks.

Read the full story:

LA MESA, CALIFORNIA - DECEMBER 14: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY) Registered nurse Jamey Booker (R) displays contact information through the glass to registered nurse Stanton Hinson as he prepares to call a COVID-19 patient's family for a video call in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Sharp Grossmont Hospital on December 14, 2020 in La Mesa, California. According to state figures, Southern California, which includes San Diego County, currently has only 1.7 percent of its ICU (Intensive Care Unit) bed capacity remaining amid a spike in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations. Sharp HealthCare is the largest health system in San Diego County. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Related article White House coronavirus task force warns of surging cases in more populated states