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

Those groups would cover teachers and critical workers in high-risk settings.

ByMorgan Winsor, Emily Shapiro, Erin Schumaker, Ivan Pereira, Meredith Deliso, and Rosa Sanchez
Last Updated: December 21, 2020, 3:00 PM EST

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.

Latest headlines:

Here's how the news is developing today. All times Eastern.
Dec 16, 2020, 4:39 PM EST

100 million seniors should be vaccinated by March, Slaoui says

Moncef Slaoui, President Donald Trump’s top science adviser in the vaccine effort, expects the vast majority of seniors in the country to be vaccinated by the end of March, he told CNBC's "Health Returns.”

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis asks Vera Leip, 88, how she feels after nurse Christine Philips, left, administered the Pfizer vaccine at John Knox Village, Dec. 16, 2020, in Pompano Beach, Fla.
Marta Lavandier/AP

About 120 million Americans are over the age of 65. While vaccine doses are just starting to reach nursing homes, Slaoui said he expects pharmacies like CVS and Walgreens to begin offering shots in February to seniors living outside long-term care facilities.

Because two doses are required, Slauoi said he expects it will take until the end of March to immunize about 100 million of the nation’s seniors.

ABC News’ Anne Flaherty contributed to this report.

Dec 16, 2020, 5:32 PM EST

California shatters new daily case record

California reported a record high of 53,711 new cases Wednesday -- a 3.3% increase from Tuesday.

Of Wednesday's new cases, 21,411 were in Los Angeles County alone. However, that total includes about 7,000 backlogged cases.

Masked pedestrians walk past of a COVID 19-themed mural depicting Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa in Beverly Hills, Calif., Dec. 9, 2020.
Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP, FILE

A sign encourages visitors to wear a face cover amid the coronavirus pandemic on the pier in the Manhattan Beach section of Los Angeles, Dec. 14, 2020.
Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP

This surpassed the previous daily case record of 35,729, which was reported on Dec. 11.

The Golden State recorded 293 additional deaths on Wednesday, up 1.4% from Tuesday.

Dec 16, 2020, 3:38 PM EST

Twitter to remove misleading information on vaccines

Twitter said that starting next week, the company will “prioritize the removal of the most harmful misleading information, and during the coming weeks, begin to label Tweets that contain potentially misleading information about the vaccines.”

An empty syringe lies on a table at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center after a care worker received the COVID-19 vaccine on Dec. 16, 2020, in Westwood, Calif.
Brian van der Brug/Pool via Getty Images

Beginning early next year, the company said it may “label or place a warning on Tweets that advance unsubstantiated rumors, disputed claims, as well as incomplete or out-of-context information about vaccines.”

Dec 16, 2020, 1:22 PM EST

FDA authorizes Abbott’s BinaxNOW rapid test for home use 

Abbott has received FDA emergency use authorization for at-home use of its BinaxNOW rapid test, which it says can deliver “results in minutes.” 

The credit card-sized $25 test -- the lowest available price for at-home testing -- will become highly available in 2021, Abbott said.  

Until now, the test (which requires a prescription) was available in limited quantities and needed to be performed by a trained medical professional. 

Thirty million tests should be available in the first quarter of 2021 and another 90 million in the second quarter. 

ABC News’ Eric Strauss contributed to this report.

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