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

The U.S. reported a record number of new COVID-19 cases and current hospitalizations on Thursday, according to the COVID Tracking Project.

There were 241,620 new cases, 3,438 new deaths, and 114,237 people are currently hospitalized with COVID-19. 

With over 42,000 deaths, December is already the second deadliest month of the pandemic, according to the project.

"For the second week in a row, more COVID-19 deaths were reported in the United States than at any other time in the pandemic," it said Thursday in its weekly analysis.

The wife of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar has tested positive for the coronavirus, Azar said in an email to agency staff Thursday evening obtained by ABC News. 

Azar said he and his children have tested negative for the virus, and he is planning to keep up his work "while strictly adhering to CDC guidelines for essential workers, continuing to practice social distancing, wearing a mask, and monitoring for any symptoms."

In the email, Azar said his wife initially got a negative test result from an instant test. ABC News has asked HHS which test was used to confirm his wife’s positive diagnosis.

The secretary has kept a high profile this week during the rollout of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine and attended a White House Cabinet meeting.

-ABC News' Matthew Vann and Anne Flaherty

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said Thursday he is quarantining after his 9-year-old daughter tested positive for COVID-19.

During a COVID-19 update, the mayor said that he and his wife have tested negative for the virus, and his daughter has mild symptoms.

Garcetti, who gave his update live from his home instead of his usual podium at City Hall, said he has no idea how his daughter contracted the virus.

"We follow very strict protocols in our household," he said. "We haven't mixed households. There's no behavior that she has engaged in that doesn't adhere strictly to the protocols of our health officials."

The numbers in LA right now are alarming, Garcetti said, as city test sites are seeing a seven-day positivity rate of 19.6%; some have a positivity rate higher than 30%. 

Intensive care unit capacity in the region is at 0%. Beds can be added, he said, but there's also a staffing shortage. There are currently 5,100 people hospitalized in Los Angeles County, 1,035 of them in ICUs. 

"There are more people in the ICU today than all COVID-19 hospitalizations about a month ago," Garcetti said.

-ABC News' Lauren Botchan contributed to this report.

A panel of independent experts voted 20 to 0 to recommend Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use authorization. One person abstained in Thursday's vote.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory committee voted yes on the following question: "Based on the totality of scientific evidence available, do the benefits of the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine outweigh its risks for use in individuals 18 years of age and older?"

The committee's recommendation now goes back to the FDA, which will discuss any issues raised in the meeting and finalize a decision about emergency authorization.

If an EUA is issued, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory committee will meet Friday to discuss recommendations for who should take the Moderna vaccine. 

The FDA authorized the first COVID-19 vaccine, from Pfizer-BioNTech, last Friday.

-ABC News' Stephanie Ebbs