People over 75, front-line essential workers should get vaccine next, CDC panel says

The United States registered 3,019 deaths from COVID-19 on Tuesday, which is approximately one fatality recorded every 30 seconds over the 24-hour reporting period, according to an ABC News analysis of data collected by Johns Hopkins University.

Over the past month, the country's seven-day average of daily deaths from the disease has more than doubled, according to an ABC News analysis of data compiled by The COVID Tracking Project. There were just five days where fewer than 1,000 COVID-19 fatalities were reported nationwide. In the last seven days, the country has reported 17,292 COVID-19 deaths -- a new weekly record.

More than 112,000 people in the United States are currently hospitalized for COVID-19 -- more than ever before. The figure is nearly double the country's previous peaks from April and July.

Meanwhile, the country's seven-day average of daily cases is nearing 209,000 -- more than three times the average from July, and more than six times the average in April.

ABC News' Brian Hartman and Arielle Mitropoulos contributed to this report.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo announced Wednesday that he will be the first in the country to be immunized against COVID-19 and that the vaccine, once approved, will be available at no cost to all citizens.

"I want to emphasize once again that I will become the first one to be vaccinated. This is to build trust and certain among the public that the vaccines are safe," he said in an address from the presidential palace that was livestreamed on YouTube. "I've ordered the finance minister to prioritize and reallocate to provide free vaccines, so there's no reason that the people can't access them."

Earlier this month, Indonesia received 1.2 million doses of a COVID-19 vaccine developed by Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac Biotech. The vaccine, called CoronaVac, is still awaiting approval from Indonesia's food and drug agency, according to Widodo.

Indonesia, which has the fourth-largest population in the world, has reported more than 636,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic began, including at least 19,248 deaths, according to a real-time count kept by Johns Hopkins University.

Vaccinations began Wednesday for staff at New York City’s public hospitals, beginning with Elmhurst Hospital in Queens.

Mayor Bill de Blasio, who attended the inaugural moment, commended the Elmhurst Hospital “health care heroes” who "held the line" when the hospital faced “one of the toughest battles” against COVID-19 in the U.S.

“In the last 48 hours since the vaccine arrived, over 1,600 health care workers have been vaccinated in New York City -- that is a huge step forward,” the mayor said.

Elmhurst plans to vaccinate its entire hospital staff within three weeks.

The World Health Organization has warned that "there is a high risk of further resurgence" in COVID-19 infections across Europe at the start of the new year.

"Despite some fragile progress, COVID-19 transmission across the European Region remains widespread and intense," the WHO Regional Office for Europe said in a statement Wednesday. "There is a high risk of further resurgence in the first weeks and months of 2021, and we will need to work together if we are to succeed in preventing it."

The warning comes amid the festive season when families are anxious to gather together for the winter holidays.

"Annually across Europe, we see a massive increase in gatherings that bring together people of all ages, including families, religious groups and friends," the regional office said. "This brings a significant risk of increased COVID-19 transmission during the upcoming holiday season."

The regional office is urging everyone in Europe to "play our part to prevent yet another resurgence" by postponing or reducing the size of gatherings and holding them outside if possible, wearing masks, maintaining physical distancing and avoiding any transportation that might be crowded.

The regions of the Americas and Europe continue to shoulder the burden of the coronavirus pandemic, accounting for 85% of new cases and 86% of new deaths globally, according to the WHO's weekly epidemiological update published Tuesday.