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NY health provider may have fraudulently obtained COVID-19 vaccine

The vaccine was then given to members of the public not yet eligible.

ByRosa Sanchez, Emily Shapiro, and Ivan Pereira
Last Updated: December 29, 2020, 11:11 AM EST

A pandemic of the novel coronavirus has now infected more than 80.2 million people worldwide and killed over 1.7 million of them, according to real-time data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.

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Here's how the news is developing today. All times Eastern.
Dec 24, 2020, 12:12 PM EST

Hospitalizations now nearly double spring, summer peaks

Over the last 24 hours, more than two Americans tested positive for COVID-19 every second, and two deaths reported every minute, according to ABC News’ analysis of data compiled by the COVID Tracking Project.

A man receives a nasal swab COVID-19 test at Los Angeles International Airport, Dec. 22, 2020.
Mario Tama/Getty Images

More Americans are now hospitalized with COVID-19 than ever before. There are 119,163 Americans currently hospitalized, marking the 19th day that the U.S. has hit a record high of current hospitalizations this month.

Current hospitalizations have increased by nearly 40% in the last month. The total number of patients hospitalized is now approximately double the spring and summer peaks in April and July.

A clinician cares for a COVID-19 patient in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Providence St. Mary Medical Center, Dec. 23, 2020, in Apple Valley, Calif.
Mario Tama/Getty Images

Hospitalizations are on the rise in every region of the country except for the Midwest. Over 44,000 people are hospitalized in the South and over 30,500 people are hospitalized the West -- both record highs.

California has the most hospitalizations of any state with more than 19,000 hospitalized, followed by Texas, New York and Pennsylvania.

ABC News’ Arielle Mitropoulos contributed to this report.

Dec 24, 2020, 11:49 AM EST

US death toll could reach 419,000 by Jan. 16: CDC

Another 16,400 to 27,600 Americans are expected to die from COVID-19 by Jan. 16, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said, citing its national ensemble forecast from 36 modeling groups.

Medical staff perform a tracheotomy procedure on a patient in the COVID-19 intensive care unit (ICU) at the United Memorial Medical Center on Dec. 22, 2020, in Houston.
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That would bring the total COVID-19 death toll in the U.S. to between 378,000 and 419,000.

At least 326,495 Americans have died so far, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. 

ABC News’ Ahmad Hemingway contributed to this report.

Dec 24, 2020, 8:36 AM EST

TSA sees busiest travel day of pandemic

The TSA screened 1,191,123 people at airport checkpoints nationwide on Wednesday, the highest single day total since the pandemic started, despite the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advising Americans against traveling for the holidays.

Travelers pass through O'Hare International Airport on Dec. 23, 2020, in Chicago.
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More than 6.3 million passengers have been screened since Dec. 18 .

ABC News’ Sam Sweeney and Ahmad Hemingway contributed to this report.

Dec 24, 2020, 5:34 AM EST

California surpasses 2 million cases

California now has more than 2 million confirmed cases of coronavirus since the start of the pandemic -- the first state to report the grim milestone.

Clinicians work in the former lobby of Providence St. Mary Medical Center, which has been converted into a care space to treat suspected COVID patients, amid a surge in COVID-19 cases in Southern California on Dec. 23, 2020, in Apple Valley, Calif.
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The state has at least 2,010,004 diagnosed cases and 23,651 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.