Coronavirus updates: 84% of California population to go on lockdown Sunday night

Dr. Anthony Fauci spoke to ABC News Live anchor Linsey Davis Wednesday about the latest developments in the coronavirus vaccine.

The director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said he was pleasantly surprised at the high efficacy rate of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines.

"You know, 94% and 95% is almost as good as it gets," he told ABC News Live. "That's almost as good as measles, which is the gold standard of a highly effective vaccine."

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Dr. Fauci on the fight against COVID-19

Dr. Anthony Fauci talks with ABC News’ Linsey Davis about the pandemic during the holidays, the newest Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines and vaccines currently being prepared.

ABCNews.com

When asked when Americans are likely to see things returning to normal, Fauci said at least 70% of the population would have to be vaccinated.

"If we can do that, we can get a blanket of immunity over this country that as we get into summer and early fall, we could be very close to normal," he said.

Fauci reiterated that Americans need to continue to adhere to health guidelines to slow the spread of the virus over the next couple of months. He again recommended that people curtail travel and avoid crowds during the holidays.

"Any kind of congregate settings where you have large numbers of people indoors particularly without masks is a very risky situation," Fauci said. "It doesn't matter where you are, who you are or where you're doing it -- it's a risky situation."

-ABC News' Haley Yamada

The U.S. recorded 2,733 deaths on Wednesday, the U.S. COVID Tracking Project reported, the second-highest total since the pandemic began.

The only higher total was record during the previous height of the pandemic on May 7, when 2,769 Americans died of coronavirus-related issues, according to the tracking project.

"It is also the first time deaths have exceeded 5k in a 2-day period," the project tweeted.

The seven-day average for deaths is at 1,584, according to the health data.

Hospitalizations in the country passed another grim milestone, as over 100,000 people are in hospitals for COVID-19 symptoms, according to the data. The seven-day average for hospitalizations is at 95,314, The COVID Tracking Project said.

About 30% of hospitals across the country have more than 80% of their intensive care unit beds filled, according to an internal memo by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services obtained by ABC News.

Roughly 21% of all hospital patients nationwide have COVID-19, which is just 3 percentage points lower than the all-time peak, according to HHS.

The memo said 30% of ventilators in use are occupied by coronavirus patients.

Several states have seen record-level hospitalization levels in the last week, according to HHS.

On Nov. 30, Arkansas recorded 1,063 COVID-19 active hospitalizations, 107 COVID-19 patients admitted to the ICU and 211 COVID-19 patients on ventilators, the memo said.

In the week ending Nov. 29, hospital occupancy in Louisiana averaged 64.2% for inpatient beds and 70.7% for adult ICU beds, HHS said.

ICU utilization in New Mexico averaged 95% in that same period, according to the memo.

-ABC News' Josh Margolin

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler announced he is quarantining after he was exposed to a person who tested positive for the coronavirus.

"He was exposed to an individual who at the time of exposure had not yet tested positive, was wearing a mask, and was/still is asymptomatic," EPA spokesman James Hewitt said in a statement.

Wheeler was slated to speak at the Nixon Library tomorrow for EPA's 50th anniversary, but he said he will give the address virtually.

-ABC News' Stephanie Ebbs