A pandemic of the novel coronavirus has now infected more than 75.5 million people worldwide and killed over 1.6 million of them, according to real-time data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.
Here's how the news is developing today. All times Eastern.
Dec 14, 2020, 12:49 PM EST
Texas hospital gives its 1st COVID-19 vaccine to worker who cleans emergency room
A hospital in Texas gave its first COVID-19 vaccine Monday morning to an environmental services worker, Teresa Mata, 51, who cleans the emergency room.
Methodist Dallas Medical Center is one of four Texas hospitals receiving vaccine shipments Monday. The initial shipment will allow the hospital to give the first dose of the two-part vaccine to 5,000 of its front-line employees.
ABC News' Jim Scholz contributed to this report.
Dec 14, 2020, 11:41 AM EST
2nd health worker vaccinated in NY lost family member to COVID-19
Dr. Yves Duroseau, head of emergency medicine at Lenox Hill Hospital, became the second health care worker to receive the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine Monday in New York.
"I'm very thankful for this moment," Duroseau told reporters. "This is a hopeful day."
Duroseau encouraged Americans, especially those in high-risk communities, to get the vaccine when it's available to them.
"I saw a lot of devastation. I saw it personally in my family," he said. In addition to a family member who is currently hospitalized, Duroseau had a "dear uncle" die of COVID-19.
Northwell Health employee Dr. Yves Duroseau, chair of emergency medicine at Lenox Hill Hospital volunteers to be the second person to receive the COVID-19 vaccination by Michelle Chester, DNP, director, employee health services, Northwell Health at Long Island Jewish Medical Center, in New York, Dec. 14, 2020.
Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty Images
"It is very important to not fear the vaccination," he added. "We cannot continue to have 3,000 people die a day."
Until the vaccine is more widely available, it's crucial for Americans to continue social distancing, especially over the holidays. "We have to resist the temptations to gather," Duroseau said.
Dec 14, 2020, 9:58 AM EST
Critical care nurse becomes 1st New Yorker, possibly 1st American, to receive vaccine
Sandra Lindsay, a critical care nurse at Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New York City, became the first person in the state of New York to be vaccinated against COVID-19 outside of a clinical trial.
Lindsay was administered the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine on live television. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said she is also likely the first to receive the shot in the United States since the vaccine was approved for emergency use.
Dec 14, 2020, 8:21 AM EST
'I will be getting it,' US surgeon general says of COVID-19 vaccine
U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams said he plans to get the COVID-19 vaccine as soon as he's allowed to.
"I will be getting it when they tell me I can get it -- that's how confident I am in its safety," Adams told ABC News chief anchor George Stephanopoulos in an interview Monday on "Good Morning America."
Adams said the priority is administering the vaccine to nursing home residents and health care workers.
"I still practice medicine. I also travel around the country and deploy as part of my job as surgeon general," he noted. "So I imagine I'll be in that first tier. But again, we want to make sure we're getting the people who are most likely to be impacted vaccinated first."
"We also recognize that there's a symbolic part of someone like me getting vaccinated, giving people confidence that they can get vaccinated," he added.
Surgeon General Jerome Adams appears on "Good Morning America," Dec. 14, 2020.
ABC News
Adams advised those who aren't in the priority group to get vaccinated against the flu in the meantime and to discuss any concerns they have regarding the COVID-19 vaccine with a health care professional.
"You should be going right now to get your flu shot if you haven't already and talk to your doctor about vaccinations," he said. "Get your questions answered because it is ok, it is normal to have questions. What's not normal is to let misinformation rule you. Vaccines will sometimes give you a sore arm. They can give you a little bit of a mild fever or you can feel a little bit bad, but that's normal -- that means the vaccine is actually working."
The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine was authorized for emergency use in the United States on Friday. A final analysis of a massive Phase 3 clinical trial showed the vaccine is roughly 95% effective in preventing symptomatic COVID-19, which Adams said "means we can put this pandemic away if we get enough people vaccinated."
"We still need to be careful into the at least second quarter of next year because these vaccines were tested with an outcome of severe disease, not a prevention of infection," he added. "So we don't know yet whether they will prevent infection, but they could prevent you from being in the hospital and ultimately passing from this virus. Still incredibly important to get vaccinated, but we're going to need to continue to wear our masks, wash our hands and watch our distance as we slowly start to reopen with the assistance of these great vaccines."
