December 9 coronavirus news

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington DC, on Tuesday, December 8.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called on Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to “join the rest of the Senate” in bipartisan stimulus negotiations, while describing last night’s proposal from the White House as “an encouraging sign that the Republican leadership is moving in the right direction by endorsing the size of the gang of eight’s bill.”

Schumer praised the price tag proposed by the White House but criticized certain aspects of the proposal, including “an unacceptably low amount” of unemployment benefits in exchange for the $600 direct payments included.

In encouraging McConnell to sit down and negotiate, Schumer said, “That’s where the real action is and where bipartisan agreement on the basic concepts will ultimately be forged.”

Schumer further praised Biden’s picks, including Gen. Lloyd Austin for secretary of Defense and Xavier Becerra for Health and Human Services secretary, and chastised his Republican colleagues for holding Biden’s nominees to different standards than Trump’s.

Alex Azar, secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), signs a Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. -80C Benchtop Freezer during an Operation Warp Speed vaccine summit at the White House in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, December 8.

US Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said there will be enough vaccine for any American who wants one by the end of the second quarter of 2021.

Twenty million Americans should be vaccinated against Covid-19 by the end of 2020, 50 million by the end of January and at least 100 million should be vaccinated by the end of the first quarter, Azar said at an Operation Warp Speed briefing Wednesday.

Characterizing the results from the US Food and Drug Administration’s assessment of the Pfizer vaccine trial as “more good news,” Azar said people still do need to wear a mask, wash hands, avoid crowds and keep physical distance to stop the spread of Covid-19.

“Even as we have such a bright future ahead, we face extremely concerning trends in the spread of the virus,” Azar said. “Hospitalization rates are now at the highest they have been during the pandemic. We are so close to being able to protect millions of Americans from this virus with the vaccine. For now, we need to double down on the steps that can keep us all safe.”

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence departs from an Operation Warp Speed vaccine summit at the White House in Washington DC, on Tuesday, December 8.

Operation Warp Speed, which is overseeing the rollout of Covid-19 vaccines in the US, announced Wednesday that it has approved supply shipments in advance of the anticipated Pfizer vaccine. 

Items like syringes, needles, and alcohol wipes should begin going out today and through the end of the week, officials told reporters on a press call.

The news comes ahead of tomorrow’s crucial meeting of the FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee that will consider authorizing emergency use of the Pfizer vaccine.

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves speaks on Covid-19 testing at the White House in Washington DC, on September 28.

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves is planning to host holiday parties in the near future despite his current executive order limiting gatherings due to a surge in coronavirus cases across the state, Mississippi Today first reported. 

State Rep. Chris Bell told CNN affiliate WAPT that he received an invitation to one of the governor’s parties, but he is respectfully declining to attend because the virus is still out of control. 

CNN reached out to the governor’s office on Wednesday. While the governor’s spokesperson Bailey Martin didn’t specifically address the holiday invitations, Martin said in a statement that any event held by the governor and the first lady are conducted safely in accordance with the governor’s executive order. 

It’s not clear how many people are invited to each event.

Currently, state orders limit indoor gatherings to fewer than 20 people, but the governor has said he will be announcing more restrictive measures this week.

The latest numbers: The Mississippi Department of Health reported at least 1,732 new single day cases of coronavirus and 56 additional deaths for Monday, December 7, bringing the state to a total of at least 167,926 Covid-19 cases and 4,017 reported deaths. 

Note: These numbers were released by Mississippi’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.

Gov. Roy Cooper removes his mask before speaking at a briefing on the state's coronavirus pandemic response at the N.C. Emergency Operations Center in Raleigh, North Carolian, on December 8.

North Carolina set a record with the highest number of single-day coronavirus cases as well as hospitalizations on Wednesday since the start of the pandemic. 

The North Carolina Department of Health reported 6,495 new Covid-19 cases and 2,440 hospitalizations. 

Wednesday marked the 13th straight day North Carolina set a new high in Covid-19 hospitalizations, according to the state’s Covid-19 dashboard. 

To date, the state has recorded 410,527 total cases of coronavirus and at least 5,661 deaths. 

Note: These numbers were released by North Carolina’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.

A worker at a coronavirus testing site speaks with someone through a car window in Hoover, Alabama, on Tuesday, September 1.

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey announced on Wednesday that she will be extending her safer-at-home order that includes a statewide mask mandate for another six weeks. 

During a news conference Wednesday morning, Ivey said no changes will be made to the existing order which will extend until Jan. 22. 

Under the existing order, individuals will be required to wear a mask or other facial coverings when in public and in close contact with other people as described in the order. 

Currently the state has recorded at least 280,187 Covid-19 cases and approximately 3,985 deaths since the start of the pandemic. 

Alabama’s Health Officer Scott Harris said the state is “in some pretty dark days” with the surge in Covid-19 cases. 

Harris said there is optimism with the rollout of the vaccine which Alabama is expecting to receive its first doses by early next week. 

The state is expected to receive approximately 41,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine in the first shipment, which Harris cautions will not be enough for the first priority group. Harris said there will be more flexibility with distribution once the state receives the first doses of the Moderna vaccination. 

Note: These numbers were released by Alabama’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.

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, Cuomo holds up samples of empty packaging for the COVID-19 vaccine during a news conference at the State Capitol in Albany, New York, on Thursday, December 3.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Wednesday the state will be focusing on a three-part plan in regards to the Covid-19 vaccine, including education, equitable distribution and a fast delivery process. 

Step one: Education

The state will be launching a public education plan to encourage residents to get the vaccine. For the vaccine to be effective, 75-85% of the population needs to get it. Right now, 50% of the population is saying they don’t want to get it, according to the governor.

The campaign will focus on a “real public education to dispel the skepticism that already exists,” he said. 

Step two: Equal distribution

Secondly, the state will be focusing on equitable distribution of the vaccine in Black and brown communities, since these communities have been impacted by higher infection and death rates, Cuomo said. 

“We want to make sure that when we do the vaccine that it is done in a just and fair and equal way,” Cuomo told reporters. 

Step three: Speed of distribution

Lastly, Cuomo said that the state is working on how to quickly distribute the vaccine across the state, which he said is a huge undertaking. 

“I can’t think of a government operation that has been commenced that is more difficult and intricate than what governments will be asked to do here,” he said. 

While the state has a good record of tackling challenges like testing capacity, this will “test capacity across the board,” he added. 

CNN and Sesame Street are coming together for a new town hall on Saturday, Dec. 19 at 10 a.m. ET to help children and parents understand the latest issues surrounding coronavirus, including details about the vaccine, celebrating the holidays safely and how to stay healthy and happy during the winter months ahead.

The hour-long special will be hosted by CNN’s Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta and Anchor Erica Hill, along with Sesame Street’s Big Bird.

Leave your questions for them below.

A medical worker performs a rapid COVID-19 test at a COVID-19 Rapid Test Center in Manhattan, New York, on December 8.

New York reported an additional 95 deaths from Covid-19, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced today.

New York currently has a 5.44% positivity rate for Covid-19 across the state, the governor said. Without the microclusters, the positivity rate is at 4.86%, but it is at 7.08% in the microcluster zones, he said. 

One note: These numbers were released by the(state’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

Aerial view of the Pentagon building.

The Pentagon confirmed Wednesday that a small number of senior leaders would be among the first to receive the coronavirus vaccine, an action that is being taken in order to help convince military personnel that the vaccine is safe. CNN first reported on Tuesday that senior leadership would be among the first to receive the vaccination.

While the bulk of senior military leaders will receive the vaccine after medical personnel, a select few will receive it in the earliest phase.

“Right now we would be looking at current senior leaders, the top four,” he added, listing Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller, Deputy Secretary David Norquist, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. John Hyten, and the senior enlisted adviser would receive the vaccine in the earliest phase to help convince Department if Defense personnel that the vaccine is safe.

Officials said there were no current plans to offer the vaccine to President-elect Joe Biden’s designate for Defense secretary, retired Gen. Lloyd Austin.

The Pentagon is expected to receive 44,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine in the coming days.

“Of those 44,000 a huge majority will be for first responders, critical healthcare people and a very very limited number to critical national capabilities in this first tranche,” Army Lt. Gen. Ronald Place, the Defense Health Agency director said.

Senior leaders are considered “critical national capabilities” by the Pentagon.

The vaccine “is voluntary for everyone” Place said, due to it being expected to only receive emergency use authorization from the FDA, while adding that “the Department is strongly encouraging everyone to take it,” Place said.

A person in Cardiff, Wales, receives an injection of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine on December 8.

The UK can expect to have a “portfolio of three or four vaccines” in use by the middle of next year, England’s Chief Medical Officer told lawmakers on Wednesday.

Thousands of people were vaccinated on Tuesday, the first day of the national rollout of the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine. 

Asked by lawmakers when the UK regulator would decide on the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, chief of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency June Raine said she could not provide a firm date for a decision on authorization.

Raine said regulators have “great interest” in how the two dosing regimens produced different efficacies, and if there is a scientific basis to the different immune responses. 

The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine showed 90% efficacy in one dosing regimen — when the vaccine was given as a half dose, followed by a full dose at least a month later. It showed 62% efficacy in a second regimen — when two full doses were given to people at least a month apart.

On the issue revaccination, Whitty told lawmakers that the situation may arise where vulnerable people will need to be revaccinated, as it is yet unknown how long protection against the virus can last.

“It might last for a very long time, it might last for […] nine months, I think it’s more likely to be somewhere between those two,” Whitty said. 

Asked what lessons have been learned from the pandemic, Whitty admitted that in the early stages of the pandemic, officials underestimated asymptomatic spread.

“We drew comfort wrongly from SARS,” Whitty said, referring to the respiratory illness brought on by a coronavirus that killed more than 700 people in 2002 and 2003.

“In SARS, the great majority — if not all — of the transmission was from people who were symptomatic,” Whitty said. 

Whitty went on to say that the pandemic could have been managed better in the early stages if “data streams” were more complete on mask effectiveness, lockdown timings and travel quarantines. 

He said that limited testing capacity meant officials hadn’t realized how widespread the virus had become in the UK or across Europe. 

On communicating health guidance to Britain’s minority ethnic groups – who have suffered disproportionately from the pandemic – Whitty acknowledged that officials did not get the messaging right in the early stages, adding that social research was and still is not strong enough. 

A Delta Air Lines plane lands at John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens, New York, on October 19.

In a new memo to employees, Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian says nearly 700 people have now been placed on its no-fly list for refusing to comply with the airline’s mask policy.

The new number an increase from the Delta’s last update on Nov. 12, when the carrier said about 500 passengers had been banned from flying since the start of the pandemic.

Delta began requiring that passengers wear masks on flights on May 4. All major airlines now mandate that passengers wear masks in the absence of any new regulations from the federal government.

President-elect Joe Biden reaffirmed yesterday his call for a federal mask mandate during the first 100 days of his administration including on planes, trains and buses. 

Health Canada, the department of Canada’s government responsible for the country’s federal health policy, approved Pfizer and BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine under emergency approval Wednesday, indicating in its authorization that there were some “conditions.”

More informations is expected at an afternoon news conference where technical details about the vaccine roll out will be outlined.

Canada started a “dry-run” of distribution this week throughout the country.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said earlier this week that Canada would receive an initial shipment of 249,000 doses by the end of the year, and he expects Canada’s first vaccinations to occur sometime next week.

At least three California counties in one of the regions in a stay-at-home order has 0% intensive care unit capacity available, according to data from the state department of public health. 

“Whenever the ICUs get full, it’s really hard to move patients through the emergency department. It’s really hard for us to provide efficient services,” Dr. Rais Vohra said, an emergency physician who serves as the interim public health officer for Fresno County.

Vohra emphasized how dire the situation is, adding that working on the frontlines “gives you a very eye opening perspective.”

Vohra warned that 10-15% of all infected cases will need to visit an emergency department and some will require hospitalization and therefore will be a strain on services at hospitals for all patients, including those not battling Covid-19. 

According to information from the California Department of Public Health:

The counties are part of the San Joaquin Valley Region which is under a three-week state mandated stay-home order triggered last weekend by the low number of ICU beds available.

CNN has reached out to the health departments in Kings and Madera counties for comment.

Dr. Anthony Fauci testifies at a hearing on September 23 in Washington, DC.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, on Wednesday said that for America to start flattening the Covid-19 curve and follow the pattern of Europe, everyone needs to admit and own the problem.

In some parts of the country, there is almost denial, Fauci said – people thinking that the pandemic isn’t a big deal, that it’s fake news, or that it’s a hoax.

“It’s not. It’s real. The numbers are absolutely real,” Fauci said, pointing out that there are record numbers of cases, hospitalizations and deaths.

“We have a serious issue,” he said, coming out of the Thanksgiving holiday and leading up to the Christmas and Hanukkah season.

There have been at least 15,186,244 cases of coronavirus in the US, and at least 286,461 people have died, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

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

So far today, Johns Hopkins has reported 21,085 new cases and 212 reported deaths.

A person is tested for Covid-19 in Queens, New York, on November 18.

New York City is reporting 196 hospital admissions, “right up on” the city set threshold of 200, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Wednesday. 

“We got to keep fighting back to get and stay under that threshold, it is so important,” New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said.

The new indicator, hospital admissions per 100,000 people on a 7-day average, is 2.34, the mayor said. 

“That is still too high,” he said, reminding the city wants to be under 2.

The city is reporting 2,738 Covid-19 cases on a 7-day average, which now includes probable cases. “Way too high,” de Blasio said.

The percent positivity of New York City residents on a 7-day rolling average is 4.81%, and while that’s under the 5% threshold “we got to work hard to keep pushing that number down,” he said. 

The Department of Defense is expected to receive “just under 44,000 doses” of the Pfizer vaccine early next week, according to Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs Thomas McCaffery.

“In the coming days we expect the department to receive its first allotment of the vaccine,” McCaffery said.

He confirmed the prioritization plan for Defense Department personnel, saying that the prioritization was based off CDC guidance and the Pentagon’s task force recommendations.

The vaccine “is voluntary for everyone” Army Lt. Gen. Ronald Place, the Defense Health Agency director said, due to it having only received emergency use authorization.

Where is it being sent: Over a dozen military installations in the US, Europe and Asia were selected to receive the vaccine.

Place said those locations were chosen due their having cold storage capability, significant medical staff, and large populations.

Remember: The US FDA has not yet approved a coronavirus vaccine. The FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee is set to meet tomorrow to discuss Pfizer’s application for an emergency use authorization for its coronavirus vaccine.

A Covid-19 self-testing site is set up at Penn Station in New York on December 4.

With nine days left until the spending deadline, lawmakers are negotiating another Covid-19 stimulus bill.

A summary of what is included in the proposals, obtained by CNN, shows what the bipartisan group is working on. But, these summaries do not include a detailed explanation of how the group is planning to distribute $160 billion in state and local aid or how it will handle liability provisions. 

Here is some of what is included in the bill (Remember: This list isn’t exhaustive, but a sampling of what the bill includes):

On unemployment

On small businesses

On transportation 

On health care

On Education

Other programs:

What’s missing from this proposal Details on what the plan is exactly for state and local funding and liability. Under the liability section it says “ agreement in principle as the basis for good faith negotiations.”

US equities opened higher on Wednesday on investor hopes that Congress will pass another round of government stimulus before the holidays is boosting the market. 

At the same time, investors are concerned about the worsening spread of Covid-19 that could lead to another shutdown of businesses given various states have already tightened restrictions.

Here’s where things opened: 

If the S&P and the Nasdaq finish in the green, they will reach fresh record highs.

Paul Ostrowski — who serves as the deputy chief of supply, production and distribution for Operation Warp Speed — said on Wednesday that within 24 hours of emergency use authorization, “we will begin moving the vaccines.”

As for how quickly they will get to the jurisdictions and people will begin getting vaccinated, Ostrowski said that the intent is to get the trucks moving within 24 hours and “then overnight, basically overnight, within 48 hours the vaccines have arrived at the locations that they’ve been designated by the jurisdictions, and the administration of the vaccine can occur immediately afterward.”

Remember: There has not been a vaccine approved in the US yet, but the FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee is set to meet tomorrow to discuss Pfizer’s application for an emergency use authorization for its coronavirus vaccine.

The United States Capitol is pictured in Washington, DC, on December 7.

We’ve entered the part of the negotiations over stimulus relief to the Covid-19 pandemic and its economic fallout where everyone is putting their ideas on the table. That’s productive, but with just nine days to go until the next spending deadline, there’s not much time left for it.

There are a lot of proposals and none of them are ready to be voted on: The White House is officially back in the game on stimulus talks for the first time since the election. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is suggesting his own path forward, and the bipartisan group is still trying to solve for the problem of liability insurance that has confounded negotiators for months.

The bottom line: The White House offer is dead on arrival by Democrats. All eyes on the bipartisan group and whether they can close their deal. The sticking point? Money for state and local governments and liability protections.

Key things to watch today: We are waiting on the bipartisan group to release a series of summaries on their proposal. Why? Because putting it down on paper means the negotiations are serious.

The summaries are not expected to include liability and state and local aide, but will be a snapshot of how they plan to structure other programs including the small business loan Paycheck Protection Program, education funding, transportation funding, opioid funding, unemployment extenders and the student loan payment freeze.

A word of warning that the group involves a lot of players. Therefore any announcements on when these will be rolled out should be taken with caution as there are just a lot of members who have to agree before anything is seen publicly.

More on the bipartisan group: While the group does include Republicans and Democrats and it’s grown to include members like Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican who has been helping on the liability piece, the Republicans in the bipartisan group don’t represent the views of the GOP conference at large on some of these issues. What might work for Sen. Mitt Romney, a Republican from Utah, or Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins may not work for Wyoming GOP Sen. John Barrasso.

Even if the group irons out a final proposal and has bill text, it’s not the end of the agreement. There was some pushback in GOP lunch Tuesday over the path the bipartisan group is taking, according to aides. And, there is a recognition that leadership will eventually have to get involved in it. McConnell isn’t one to bring bills to the floor that only have a handful of Republican votes. He’s going to have to get broader buy-in from the conference.

Here’s more about where stimulus negotiations stand here.

A needle is filled from a vial of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine in Newcastle, England, on December 8.

The company excluded people with a history of severe allergic reactions to vaccines from their SARS-COV-2 RNA vaccine trial, according to Pfizer data released by the US Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday.

Participants with a “history of severe adverse reaction associated with a vaccine and/or severe allergic reaction (eg, anaphylaxis) to any component of the study intervention(s)” were not included in the pool of 44,000 trial volunteers.

According to the US Food and Drug Administration’s evaluation of the Pfizer data, there was a slight increase in events that may be considered allergic reactions in the vaccine group. The FDA’s independent analysis said “A slight numerical imbalance of adverse events potentially representing allergic reactions, with more participants reporting hypersensitivity-related adverse events in the vaccine group (137 [0.63%]) compared with the placebo group (111 [0.51%])”

Some background: The UK issued new guidance on Wednesday, now advising that people with a “significant history of allergic reactions” not receive the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine after two health workers who received the vaccine suffered allergic reactions.  

British health authorities are conducting an investigation into the two incidents. In a statement, Pfizer said “As a precautionary measure, the MHRA has issued temporary guidance to the NHS while it conducts an investigation in order to fully understand each case and its causes. Pfizer and BioNTech are supporting the MHRA in the investigation.” 

Both staff members reportedly had a significant history of allergic reactions and carried adrenaline autoinjectors, according to PA Media. Thousands overall are believed to have been vaccinated in the UK on Tuesday.

The FDA’s vaccine advisory group is meeting on Thursday to discuss a possible emergency use authorization of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine in the US.

The FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee will meet in less than 24 hours to discuss Pfizer and BioNTech’s application for emergency use authorization for a coronavirus vaccine in the US.

Pfizer says its vaccine is 95% effective and doses are already being rolled out in the UK.

But, in the meantime, the US continues to report a record number of hospitalizations as Covid-19 cases and deaths rise across the country.

Here’s a look at where things stand:

New cases

Deaths

Hospitalizations

Here’s a look at where cases are rising across the country:

Rick Gates, senior vice president of pharmacy and healthcare at Walgreens, on December 9.

Rick Gates, Walgreens’ senior vice president of pharmacy and healthcare, said that the company has been working closely with states as nursing homes and long-term care facilities prepare for coronavirus vaccinations. 

The federal government made a deal with Walgreens and CVS to distribute vaccines to nursing homes once they are approved by the US Food and Drug Administration.

More than 30,000 long-term care facilities have signed up with Walgreens to administer vaccines, Gates said. Once the FDA approves a vaccine, “we’ll be in long-term care facilities within one to two days, tops, to start vaccinating,” he said.

Gates said that Walgreens is planning to increase staffing in certain areas for the care facilities. 

Gates also said Walgreens is in the process of creating apps and ways to sign up online so people can schedule vaccinations once it becomes more widely available. 

A vial containing the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine is seen on December 8 in Glasgow, Scotland.

Pfizer said it was supporting British health authorities in their investigation of two reported cases of allergic reaction to the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine in the UK.

“We have been advised by MHRA [Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency] of two yellow card reports that may be associated with allergic reaction due to administration of the COVID-19 BNT162b2 vaccine,” Pfizer said in a statement Wednesday.

The statement concluded: “In the pivotal phase 3 clinical trial, this vaccine was generally well tolerated with no serious safety concerns reported by the independent Data Monitoring Committee. The trial has enrolled over 44,000 participants to date, over 42,000 of whom have received a second vaccination.”

The two health workers – who both carried an adrenaline auto injector and had a history of allergic reactions – developed symptoms of anaphylactoid reaction after receiving the vaccine on Tuesday.

Alex Azar, US Health and Human Services secretary, on December 9.

US Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar on Wednesday told CNN’s Alisyn Camerota that he was learning of the allergic reactions experienced by two people in the UK to the Covid-19 vaccine “just with you, right now.”

Camerota asked Azar if he thought it would change anything in the United States, such as a pending emergency use authorization for Pfizer/BioNTech’s vaccine candidate by the US Food and Drug Administration.

Azar said he wanted to make sure the FDA had an opportunity to look at that data, adding he is certain they’ll be speaking with UK regulators, like always.

Yesterday: The United Kingdom became the world’s first nation to begin vaccinating its citizens with a fully vetted and authorized Covid-19 shot, a landmark moment in the coronavirus pandemic.

The first Briton to get the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine received the first of two doses Tuesday, less than a week after the UK became the first country to approve it.

Men with Covid-19 appear to face higher odds of needing intensive care and dying compared with women who have the disease, according to a new study.

The study, published in the journal Nature Communications on Wednesday, suggests that even though there is no significant difference in the proportion of men versus women testing positive for Covid-19, men have “almost three times the odds” of requiring intensive treatment, and higher odds of death. 

The study included data on more than 3 million Covid-19 cases reported from around the world between January and June. The researchers – from the University College London and the University of Cape Town – took a close look at the data by sex and severity of disease.

More on the study: The data showed that among the cases in the study, about 1.57 million were women and about 1.53 million were men. Yet when it came to data on more than 12,000 intensive care unit admissions, about 8,000 of those were men and 4,000 were women, the researchers found. Among more than 200,000 Covid-19 deaths in the study, about 120,000 were men and 91,000 were women.

The researchers determined that while both sexes have an equivalent risk of infection, the male sex was associated with a higher risk of severe disease and death.

The study comes with some limitations, including that more research is needed to determine which specific biological factors may be driving these differences.

Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said the US Food and Drug Administration could approve the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine in a “matter of days.” 

Azar said the vaccine would then be shipped to “wherever the governors have told us they want it to go.”

The initial focus is health care workers and nursing home residents.

Azar said the general population should start seeing vaccines available to around February and March. 

“The governors will decide how to prioritize and get that out there,” he said. 

Remember: The US FDA has not yet approved a coronavirus vaccine. The FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee is set to meet tomorrow to discuss Pfizer’s application for an emergency use authorization for its coronavirus vaccine.

Watch:

California authorities sent this cell phone text alert to two major regions of the state on Tuesday, December 8, to notify people that the coronavirus is spreading rapidly and advise them to stay home except for essential activities.

After registering a record number of new coronavirus cases in the state of California in one week, residents of Southern California and the San Joaquin Valley received a text on Tuesday asking them to stay home and abide by newly enacted health orders, according to a tweet from California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services.

The California text message comes as the state is reporting alarming coronavirus numbers. The state reported 169,354 new cases over the past seven days, which is the highest any state has reported over the course of the pandemic. Over the last two weeks, daily case counts in the state have more than doubled.

California also reached a grim milestone Tuesday when it recorded more than 20,000 deaths.

In the past two weeks, hospitalizations rose by 71% and ICU admissions saw a 68.7% increase, California Health and Human Services Secretary Mark Ghaly said at a news conference Tuesday. 

Ghaly expressed concern that with the strain, highly trained health care workers will “not be able to provide the kind of care Californians have come to expect.”

Both Southern California and the San Joaquin Valley found themselves under the new health orders Sunday night as ICU capacity in each fell under the 15% threshold set by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

California is not the first state to use cellphones to warn residents about coronavirus since the beginning of the pandemic — in April, New York City sent an emergency alert to phones asking all licensed health workers to support its health facilities. And in October, officials in Utah sent an emergency alert to every phone in the state to warn about rapidly rising cases.

Read the full story:

California authorities sent this cellphone text alert to two major regions of the state to tell millions of people that the coronavirus is spreading rapidly and ask them to stay home except for essential activities. The noon Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2020, blast to the state-designated 11-county Southern California region and 12-county San Joaquin Valley region was sent by the Office of Emergency Services. The text also urged people to wear masks and to physically distance. Both regions came under increased restrictions this week after the total capacity of hospital intensive care units dropped below 15%. The restrictions will remain in effect for at least three weeks. (State of California via AP)

Related article 27 million Californians receive texts to stay home after the state added nearly 170,000 cases in a week

Some hospitals in coronavirus hotspots have brought in traveling nurses to help them care for the influx of patients.

Contracts range from 4 to 13 weeks, nurse Laura Liffiton explained. She’s been in New York, Arizona and Wisconsin over the past few months. She said that she’ll never forget the patients she has treated. 

Morgan Fitzsimmons, a traveling nurse also currently in Wisconsin, said that right now is “probably the most exposure that I’ve had to Covid-positive patients in the ER since everything has kind of begun.” 

She said she treats patients like they are her own family. 

“Everyone is a loved one. Whether this is a pandemic or this is before or after, we’re in this to help people. And I would like the best care for my parents … So I would like to be able to provide that for people and their family members when they’re feeling their worst,” she said. 

Watch:

The first efficacy rate for a Chinese vaccine against coronavirus was revealed on Wednesday after the UAE’s Health Ministry said China’s experimental Sinopharm vaccine has an 86% effectiveness rate against Covid-19 based on interim analysis, state-news agency WAM said on Wednesday.

The Health Ministry said the results for the China National Biotec Group (CNBG) vaccine are based on interim analysis of the late-stage clinical trials which the UAE started for the vaccine in July. The UAE approved emergency use for frontline workers in September.

“The analysis shows no serious safety concerns,” the statement said.

“The UAE’s Ministry of Health and Prevention, MOHAP, has announced the official registration of Beijing Institute of Biological Product’s inactivated COVID-19 vaccine in a major step towards combating the global pandemic,” the statement added, with no clarification of the details of the clinical trial results. 

The clinical trials alone have included 31,000 volunteers across 125 nationalities in the UAE, the statement said. However, almost 100,000 people in the Emirates have received the vaccine as part of a voluntary national vaccination program, the UAE Department of Health Under-Secretary, Jamal Al Kaabi, told CNN. 

CNN has reached out to Sinopharm for more details.

China has promised millions of coronavirus vaccines to countries globally, with a growing list of developing countries having priority access to its successful candidates.

WATCH:

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A healthcare worker checks equipment in the new ward for Covid-19 patients at the Kharkiv Regional Clinical Hospital in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on November 30.

Ukraine reported 12,585 new coronavirus cases and 276 deaths on Wednesday, its highest daily increase in Covid-related fatalities recorded in a single day since the beginning of the pandemic.

According to Ukraine’s Health Ministry, the overall death toll as of December 9 stands at 14,204 with 845,343 reported infections.

Ukraine has seen a surge in coronavirus cases in recent weeks, which forced the authorities to introduce a “weekend lockdown” in mid-November, according to state news agency Ukrinform. For three weeks, most public venues were shut down on Saturdays and Sundays, except for essential businesses, such as groceries, pharmacies, and gas stations.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said last week in a Facebook live video that the weekend lockdown helped slow down the growth of new infections but added that the country would likely go into a stricter lockdown in January.

“Let’s be honest, it will be difficult to avoid a lockdown, and there is a considerable possibility that it will [happen] in January,” Zelensky said. “But I’ve instructed the government… to inform [the public] in advance and in detail regarding the time of the lockdown, its format and [provide] a comprehensive list of quarantine measures so that it’s not a surprise to anyone.”

Zelensky’s cabinet is expected to roll out the proposed lockdown plan later on Wednesday, Ukrinform reported.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel speaks at the Bundestag in Berlin, Germany, on December 9.

Chancellor Angela Merkel has appealed to Germans to reduce their social contact over the Christmas period, telling lawmakers on Wednesday that scientists are “practically begging” citizens to stick to the scientific guidance. 

“The number of contacts is too high, the reduction of contacts is not enough,” Merkel said in the German parliament. “I’m sorry, I really am sorry from the bottom of my heart, but if the price we pay is 590 deaths a day, then that is unacceptable in my view,” she added. 

Addressing members of parliament, Merkel said restrictions introduced at the beginning of November had not proven effective, with high numbers of coronavirus-related deaths and ICU admissions still being reported ahead of the holiday period. 

“If we have too many contacts now in the run-up to Christmas and it ends up being the last Christmas with our grandparents, then we will have done something wrong. We should not let this happen,” she said. 

The Chancellor’s remarks come the day after Germany recorded its highest number of coronavirus-related deaths, with 590 recorded on Tuesday alone, according to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI).

Germany is struggling to stem a surge in coronavirus cases, with 20,815 new cases confirmed on Wednesday.

Several German states are also expected to tighten lockdown measures next week in an effort to bring the outbreak under control, including the state of Saxony, which will go into what officials there call a “hard lockdown,” closing most shops and moving all school classes online.

Health officials in England are advising people with a “significant history of allergic reactions” not to have the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine after two health workers who received the jab on the first day of roll-out on Tuesday suffered allergic reactions.

“As is common with new vaccines the MHRA [Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency] have advised on a precautionary basis that people with a significant history of allergic reactions do not receive this vaccination after two people with a history of significant allergic reactions responded adversely yesterday,” according to a statement from Stephen Powis, the national medical director for the National Health Service (NHS) in England.

“Any person with a history of a significant allergic reaction to a vaccine, medicine or food (such as previous history of anaphylactoid reaction or those who have been advised to carry an adrenalineauto-injector) should not receive the Pfizer/BioNtech vaccine,” the MHRA advices states.

On Tuesday the United Kingdom become the world’s first nation to begin vaccinating its citizens with a fully vetted and authorized Covid-19 shot, a landmark moment in the coronavirus pandemic.

According to PA Media, it is understood that both staff members had a significant history of allergic reactions and carried adrenaline autoinjectors. Thousands overall are believed to have been vaccinated in the UK on Tuesday.

The logistical challenges of manufacturing and distributing tens of millions of vaccines mean the roll-out will be gradual, with the most vulnerable people and health care workers first in line.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson told UK media on Tuesday morning that the vaccine “will gradually make a huge, huge difference.”

Read the full story:

A phial of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine ready for administration on December 8.

Related article Allergy warning for Covid-19 vaccine after two UK health workers suffer reaction

A phial of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine being prepared for use at Guy's Hospital in London on December 8.

Rich countries have bought enough Covid-19 vaccine doses to immunize their populations three times over, an international vaccine watchdog has said, but developing countries are being left behind in the global sprint to end the coronavirus pandemic.

In 67 poorer nations, just one in 10 people can hope to receive a vaccine by the end of next year, the People’s Vaccine Alliance said on Wednesday.

But in the developed world, where a rush to secure vaccine supplies began in the first weeks and months of the pandemic, a surplus has been ordered; with nations representing just 14% of the world’s population owning more than half of the most promising vaccines.

The group urged pharmaceutical companies to share their technology and intellectual property with the World Health Organization, and called on governments to commit to sending vaccines to the developing world, in order to close the economic disparity between nations as they look to emerge from the devastating Covid-19 crisis.

“No one should be blocked from getting a life-saving vaccine because of the country they live in or the amount of money in their pocket,” said Anna Marriott, Health Policy Manager at Oxfam – one of the charities that makes up the People’s Vaccine Alliance, along with Amnesty International, Global Justice Now and others.

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Michael Fox, a doctor at a Paediatric Accidents and Emergency Unit in Cardiff, receives the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine as the UK vaccination rollout gets underway at a health center in Cardiff, Wales, on Tuesday, December 8. The UK became the first Western country to authorize a Covid-19 vaccine on December 2. CNN agreed not to name the specific location of the facility in Wales, due to the government's approach with administering the vaccines to a priority/high-risk population by invitation only, first. Sarah Tilotta/CNN

Related article Rich countries are hoarding Covid-19 vaccines, People's Vaccine Alliance warns

Neanderthal DNA may play a small role in swaying the course of Covid-19 infection, recent research has shown.

Scientists examined a strand of DNA that has been associated with some of the more serious cases of Covid-19 and compared it to genetic sequences known to have been passed down to living Europeans and Asians from Neanderthal ancestors. The Neanderthal DNA strand is found on chromosome 3; a team of researchers in Europe has linked certain variations in this sequence with the risk of being more severely ill when infected by Covid-19.

“It’s exciting for us to find out that Neanderthals had things that are important for us 50,000 years after they went extinct,” said Svante Pääbo, director of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, who has been studying Neanderthal DNA for three decades.

The study also revealed considerable differences in how common this genetic risk variant is in different parts of the world. It’s particularly common among people in South Asia, where about half of the population carry the Neanderthal risk variant. In Europe, one in six people carry the risk variant, while in Africa and East Asia it is almost nonexistent.

Read the full story:

Skull of Homo Neanderthalensis, archaeology museum, Jerez de la Frontera, Cadiz Province, Spain.\

Related article How Neanderthal DNA affects human health -- including the risk of getting Covid-19

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the arrival of over 100,000 of doses of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccines at the Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv, Israel, on Wednesday, December 9.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would be the first person to take the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine in the country as the first shipment of doses arrived onboard a DHL flight at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport.

“I believe in this vaccine. I expect that it will receive the appropriate permits in the coming days and I want the citizens of Israel to be vaccinated,” Netanyahu said as the doses were offloaded from the cargo flight.

However, as coronavirus cases trend upward in Israel, Netanyahu warned the pandemic is not over, and encouraged everyone to social distance. “We see the end. We still need to follow the rules regarding masks, hands and distancing, but the end is in sight. What is important to me is that millions of Israelis be vaccinated,” he said.

Oren Libermann reports:

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Almost a thousand schools across South Korea have suspended in-person classes due to a recent surge in coronavirus cases, according to the country’s Ministry of Education.

The vast majority – 743 schools – are located in the capital Seoul, while 112 are in the eastern city of Ulsan.

As of Wednesday morning, a total of 1,651 students and 316 teachers have tested positive for Covid-19 since the outbreak began, the ministry added.

Public appeal: The South Korean government has urged people to cancel all gatherings and meetings during the Christmas period to combat the recent surge in infections.

On Tuesday, the country reported 686 new Covid-19 cases, bringing its total to 39,432, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency.

Gen. Gustave Perna, chief operating officer for the Defense Department's Project Warp Speed, speaks during a White House Coronavirus Task Force news briefing at the White House on Nov. 19.

Covid-19 vaccines will be distributed to vulnerable populations within days of an emergency use authorization (EUA), an official said, as the United States wrestles with an all-time high of daily new cases.

Pfizer and Moderna both have vaccine candidates awaiting EUAs, and the US Food and Drug Administration has confirmed Pfizer’s safety and efficacy ahead of a Thursday approval meeting. The anticipated approval comes as the US suffers spikes in coronavirus cases, hospitalizations and deaths.

The US has averaged 206,152 new cases a day over the past seven days – the highest number of cases in the pandemic so far. And Tuesday, 104,600 people were hospitalized with the virus, according to The COVID Tracking Project, a record that has been set and broken over and over in recent weeks. In total, more than 286,000 people have died of the virus and more than 15.1 million have been infected, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

The wider public will likely have to continue to grapple with spikes from the holiday season until vaccines are widely available in 2021. But officials are racing to distribute vaccines in the coming days for priority populations – the elderly and health care workers.

While it will be a “herculean task,” Perna said that he is confident that, with the planning from the CDC and collaboration from partners, “we will be able to execute this vaccine very efficiently, but more importantly, effectively.”

Read the full story:

Vials are seen as an employee works on the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine at the Pfizer manufacturing facility in Kalamazoo, Michigan, U.S., in this undated handout photo. Pfizer/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES. NO USAGE FOR DRAMATIC PRODUCTIONS. NO USAGE FOR DERIVATIVE WORKS.

Related article Officials aiming to have Covid-19 vaccine administered within 96 hours of authorization

Germany recorded 590 coronavirus deaths on Tuesday, its highest single-day total of the pandemic, according to the country’s disease control and prevention center, the Robert Koch Institute.

Tuesday’s figure represents a daily increase of 167 deaths from the day before. Germany’s previous high was 487 confirmed deaths, reported on Dec. 2, according to RKI.

Germany is struggling to contain a surge in new coronavirus infections. RKI reported 20,815 new cases on Wednesday, around 3,500 more than the same day of the previous week.

The total tally of Covid-19 infections in the country is now 1,218,524 and at least 19,932 people have died, the public health agency’s data showed. 

Tougher restrictions: Several German states will tighten lockdown measures to try to get the situation under control. The southeastern state of Saxony will go into what officials there call a “hard lockdown” next week, closing most shops and moving schools to online classes.

The United States reported 215,586 new coronavirus cases and 2,534 virus-related deaths on Tuesday, according to Johns Hopkins University.

The nationwide totals currently stand at 15,164,886 confirmed infections and at least 286,229 fatalities, per JHU’s tally.

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

See CNN’s tracker:

A phial of Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine is seen on a tray at the Louisa Jordan Hospital in Glasgow on Dec. 8 as the UK begins its biggest vaccination program.

In the United Kingdom, people are getting Pfizer’s Covid vaccine. The idea that we’ve officially entered the vaccine stage of this thing in the Western Hemisphere actually made me do a fist pump this morning. This is huge.

The process looks very organized in the UK, where they’re converting sports stadiums to vaccine delivery locations for the masses. That is in part because in the UK they have the National Health Service, which means structure for everyone, ultimately, to get stuck. (Prime Minister Boris Johnson is waiting for his place in line, he said today.)

Here in the US, there is second-guessing of a Trump administration decision not to buy more vaccine from Pfizer, which is first out of the gate in the UK. It’s also likely to be first in the US, but did not take part in all of Operation Warp Speed, the US vaccine effort. (Note: A former board member for Moderna, a Pfizer competitor, leads Operation Warp Speed.)

And there is no clear idea who will get the vaccine when in the US, although an executive order should be coming from President Donald Trump on that.

Here, there’s a profit motive to health care and it’s not clear to me that everyone will get a dose for free. It’s also not clear who will want to take it. An administration official said Monday that by the end of March, 100 million Americans could have a vaccination – everyone who wants it. There are more than 300 million people in this country.

Read the full analysis:

A phial of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine concentrate is diluted with 1.8ml sodium chloride ready for use at Guy's Hospital in London on December 8, 2020. - Britain on December 8 hailed a turning point in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, as it begins the biggest vaccination programme in the country's history with a new Covid-19 jab.

Related article Analysis: Yes, there's a vaccine, but not enough to go around

Nurses from the Japan Self-Defense Forces arrive at Yoshida Hospital in Asahikawa, Hokkaido, on Dec. 9.

Japan will send doctors and nurses from other prefectures to Osaka and Hokkaido, both of which have been hit hard by Covid-19, to help with the strain on medical staff, the National Governors’ Association has announced.

The association said 46 nurses from several prefectures will be sent to Osaka and Hokkaido to help fight Covid-19.

The Ministry of Health on Monday also began sending 60 medical personnel to the areas to assist and on Tuesday, Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi ordered the Japan Self-Defense Forces to send nurses to the coronavirus hotspot of Asahikawa city, Hokkaido to help deal with a surge in infections.

More than 70% of hospital beds are occupied in Osaka, with 160 people in critical condition on respirators, according to Osaka’s prefectural government. The prefecture reported 258 new cases on Tuesday, bringing its total to 22,993. 

Hokkaido reported 204 new cases and nine deaths from Tuesday. Asahikawa city reported a record daily increase with 50 new cases and six new deaths.

Nationwide, Japan reported 2,154 new coronavirus infections and 38 deaths from Tuesday. The country’s total number of cases stands at 166,552, including 2,433 fatalities.

This graphic provided by the FDA warns mask-wearers of the potential metal parts of their masks.

The US Food and Drug Administration is warning against wearing face masks with metal parts during magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) exams after a patient experienced facial burns.

The agency issued a safety communication Tuesday alerting patients and health care providers about the potential dangers.

The injury occurred during a scan of the neck.

“The report describes burns to the patient’s face consistent with the shape of the face mask,” the FDA said.

Some face masks, such as surgical or non-surgical masks and respirators, contain metal parts and coatings. Metal parts can include nose pieces, also called nose clips or wires, nanoparticles or antimicrobial coating that might contain silver or copper.

The metals can heat up during an MRI and burn the patient.

“Burns from metal objects worn by a patient during an MRI exam are a known issue and patients should not wear any metal during an MRI,” the agency said, but given the coronavirus pandemic, the FDA is urging patients to wear masks during an MRI.

The FDA is urging health care workers to make sure patients are wearing masks that do not have metal components during MRIs. 

Magnetic resonance imaging uses strong magnets and radio waves to take internal pictures of the body. MRIs help health care providers diagnose an injury or disease and monitor medical treatment, the FDA said.

China is resuming operations on two cruise lines to a group of disputed islands in the South China Sea following nearly a year of suspension due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

South China Sea Dream, a ship run by Nanhai Cruises, will sail to the Paracel Islands from Sanya, Hainan on Wednesday. The trip is not open to foreign travelers.

Chang’le Princess, a Hainan Strait Shipping ship, will also start sailing again to the Paracels. It’s resuming operations from Sanya with a chartered event on Thursday that will be formally open to domestic tourists from Dec. 15.

Competing claims in the South China Sea: Beijing has opened the Paracel Islands – known as the Xisha Islands in China – to domestic tourists since 2013, as a way to exercise its maritime claims in the disputed area. Both Vietnam and Taiwan also lay claim to the islands and have protested China’s activities in the area.

Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, attends a wreath laying ceremony at the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Saturday, March 2, 2019.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s powerful sister Kim Yo Jong has accused South Korea’s foreign minister of making “reckless remarks” on the emergency anti-epidemic measures in North Korea, adding that she “might have to pay dearly for it.”

Kim also accused South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha of speaking “without any consideration of the consequences.”

Kim’s statement, her first in public for several months, was made on the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Wednesday.

What did Kang say? The South Korean foreign minister’s comments about the coronavirus situation in North Korea were made on Dec. 5 at a conference in Bahrain hosted by the International Institute For Strategic Studies.

North Korea has said it doesn’t have any confirmed Covid-19 cases but many experts are doubtful. The country closed its borders in January and raised its anti-epidemic measures to the highest level again on Dec. 2, according to the KCNA.

In late November, South Korea’s spy agency reported that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered executions of at least two people due to Covid-19 and economic pressure, according to a South Korean lawmaker briefed by the country’s spy agency.

US President-elect Joe Biden on Tuesday laid out his three-point plan to combat the coronavirus pandemic, an approach in dealing with the virus that continues to contrast with President Donald Trump.

The plan, announced as he introduced the team he has designed to get the pandemic under control, would aim to get at least 100 million Americans vaccinated in his initial 100 days in office, his pledge to sign a face mask mandate on his first day in office and efforts to get kids back to school safely.

Biden’s plan came the same day that Trump signed a largely symbolic executive order aimed at prioritizing the shipment of the coronavirus vaccine to Americans before other nations.

Last week, in an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper, the President-elect said he will ask Americans to wear masks for the first 100 days after he takes office.

Read the full story:

WILMINGTON, DELAWARE - DECEMBER 08: U.S. President-elect Joe Biden announces the members of his health team, including his pick for secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra, at the Queen Theater December 08, 2020 in Wilmington, Delaware. With the novel coronavirus pandemic continuing to ravage the country with daily records for infections and deaths, members of Biden's health team said they will make fighting COVID-19 the priority. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Related article Biden details plan to combat coronavirus pandemic in first 100 days

The United States reported 104,600 Covid-19 hospitalizations on Tuesday, setting a new record high since the pandemic began, according to the Covid Tracking Project.

According to CTP data, these are the highest hospitalization numbers:

Dr. Anthony Fauci wants people who still believe Covid-19 is a hoax to know it’s real and that the US needs everyone to get behind public health measures.

Fauci, the longtime director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and other health experts have said the next few months will be a challenging time, but Americans can help turn the tide by wearing masks, keeping a distance from others and washing their hands frequently.

Fauci has advised six presidents. He said he’s never seen anything like this.

“We’ve got to overcome that and pull together as a nation uniformly with adhering to these public health measures,” he said at the Wall Street Journal CEO Council summit on Tuesday.

That people aren’t doing this is “really extraordinarily frustrating, because we feel strongly that we will be able to have a significant impact,” he said.

The US surpassed 15 million total reported Covid-19 cases on Tuesday, meaning one in 22 Americans has tested positive for the virus. Experts feel the actual number of infections is much higher.

Read the full story:

Healthcare worker Gabriel Cervera (C) takes a moment between seeing patients in the Covid-19 ward at United Memorial Medical Center in Houston, Texas on December 4, 2020. (Photo by Mark Felix / AFP) (Photo by MARK FELIX/AFP /AFP via Getty Images)

Related article The US sees its deadliest Covid-19 week since April, with more than 15,600 deaths

The United Kingdom has begun administering the first doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine outside clinical trials, launching a sprawling public health campaign to vaccinate tens of millions of people in just a matter of months. It marks a significant turning point in the fight against Covid-19, months into a pandemic that has left more than 1.5 million dead.

Margaret “Maggie” Keenan, who turns 91 next week, became the first person in the world to receive an authorized, fully-vetted coronavirus vaccine.

The second patient to receive a shot was an 81-year-old man named William Shakespeare (yes, you read that right).

Keenan and Shakespeare were among a handful of people across Britain — those aged over 80, nursing home staff and health care workers — who were administered doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine on Tuesday morning, a week after the UK leapfrogged the rest of Europe and the United States to become the first Western nation to approve it.

The process, which is complicated by the need to store the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine in ultracold conditions, will be closely watched from around the globe. The speed with which UK regulators approved the vaccine raised questions in some quarters. But Saffron Cordery, deputy chief executive of NHS Providers, said the process had been “incredibly robust.”

Other nations are not far behind the UK. The US regulator, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), has scheduled a meeting of its vaccine advisory committee on Thursday to discuss Pfizer/BioNTech’s emergency authorization application. It will meet again on December 17 to consider the application for Moderna’s vaccine candidate.

Meanwhile, vaccination centers across Moscow started to distribute Russia’s Sputnik vaccine on Saturday, initially to groups such as teachers, health professionals, and municipal services workers, after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered large-scale vaccination to begin across the country.