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

The Henderson County Department of Public Health said Thursday that it has identified 75 positive COVID-19 cases associated with the Hendersonville First Baptist Baptist Church in North Carolina.

The Henderson County Department of Public Health said the holiday event took place on the weekend of Dec. 5.

"To date, the Health Department has identified 75 individuals who have tested positive as a result of the event," they said in a statement. "The Health Department is working to identify any additional close contacts of these individuals. The CDC defines close contact as being within approximately six feet of an infected person with COVID-19 for a cumulative 15 minutes."

The news comes as Henderson County continues to see an increase in COVID-19 cases linked to parties, family gatherings and social events.

All members of Congress can get vaccinated now, according to a letter from the Capitol Hill attending physician obtained by ABC News.

In the letter, sent Thursday night to all members of Congress and staff, Dr. Brian P. Monahan said he was notified by the National Security Council that Congress will be provided with a specific number of COVID-19 vaccine doses to meet "long-standing requirements for continuity of government operations."

"The small number of COVID19 vaccine doses we will be provided reflects a fraction of the first tranche of vaccines as it is distributed throughout the country," he said in the letter.

Monahan told members of Congress to call to schedule their vaccines in advance.

"My recommendation to you is absolutely unequivocal: there is no reason why you should defer receiving this vaccine. The benefit far exceeds any small risk," he said.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi both already announced Thursday that they will be getting the vaccine soon based on Monahan's guidance.

Members will get vaccinated first, then "we will follow a process to identify the continuity-essential staff members in the various divisions of the Capitol community in the coming weeks," Monahan said in his letter.

After that, "the appointing process will then continue until the small vaccine supply is exhausted. A second dose scheduling process will then begin later."

-ABC News' Mariam Khan and Trish Turner contributed to this report

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