A pandemic of the novel coronavirus has now infected more than 66.4 million people and killed over 1.5 million worldwide, according to real-time data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.
Here's how the news developed this week. All times Eastern.
Dec 04, 2020, 1:55 PM EST
Pence says US is maybe 'a week and a half away' from vaccine approval
At a roundtable discussion at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC Director Robert Redfield said he's "optimistic that the FDA will get authorized vaccines within the next several weeks and distribution work can begin."
Vice President Mike Pence, who joined him at the meeting, added, “We are maybe, Bob, just a week and a half away from what will be the likely approval of the first coronavirus vaccine."
Vice President Mike Pence, left, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Dr. Robert Redfield exchange elbow bumps after a briefing at the CDC, Dec. 4, 2020, in Atlanta.
John Bazemore/AP
Pence added, "Within 48 hours from the FDA approval, we could be vaccinating people literally in all 50 states and territories all across the country."
Pence said that a vaccine won't likely be available for every American until "spring or early summer."
-ABC News' Elizabeth Thomas
Dec 04, 2020, 1:00 PM EST
Virus 'has entered a phase of high-level transmission' in US: CDC
A new CDC report is warning that the virus "has entered a phase of high-level transmission" in the U.S. and that it's more important than ever to follow public health guidelines.
A patient on a ventilator is seen as medical professionals treat patients infected with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at United Memorial Medical Center in Houston, Nov. 12, 2020.
Callaghan O'hare/Reuters
On Oct. 30, the number of new cases reported in the U.S. in a single day exceeded 100,000 for the first time, and by Dec. 2, the daily case number had nearly doubled, with over 196,000 new daily cases, the report said.
"With colder weather, more time spent indoors, the ongoing U.S. holiday season, and silent spread of disease, with approximately 50% of transmission from asymptomatic persons, the United States has entered a phase of high-level transmission where a multipronged approach to implementing all evidence-based public health strategies at both the individual and community levels is essential," the report said.
In this aerial image taken with a drone, cars line up for a two-hour wait for free COVID-19 testing at Michelle Krill Memorial Field at Pullman Park on Dec. 4, 2020, in Butler, Pa.
Matt Freed/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via AP
The report summarizes these strategies to combat COVID-19: universal face mask use, physical distancing, avoiding nonessential indoor space, increasing testing, prompt quarantine of exposed persons, safeguarding those at increased risk for severe illness or death, protecting essential workers, postponing travel, enhancing ventilation, hand hygiene and achieving widespread COVID-19 vaccination coverage.
-ABC News' Sony Salzman
Dec 04, 2020, 11:35 AM EST
COVID-19 appears to be 3rd leading cause of death in US
COVID-19 will probably be ranked at least third for leading causes of death in the U.S. this year, Bob Anderson, Chief, Mortality Statistics Branch at National Center for Health Statistics, told ABC News.
"We won’t make that determination officially until all the data are in," Anderson added.
People come to be tested for COVID-19 at a test site in a parking lot at Bergen Community College run by Bergen County and the Bergen New Bridge Medical center on Dec. 3, 2020 in Paramus, N.J.
David Dee Delgado/Getty Images
The No. 1 cause of death is heart disease, with 655,381 deaths, followed by cancer with 599,274 deaths, according to CDC data.
COVID-19 is in the No. 3 spot with 276,513 fatalities, followed by accidents which accounted for 167,127 deaths, according to the CDC.
-ABC News' Eric Strauss
Dec 04, 2020, 10:09 AM EST
Africa aims to vaccinate 60% of population in 2-3 years
Africa aims to have 60% of its 1.2 billion-strong population vaccinated against COVID-19 within the next two to three years, according to the head of the continent's public health agency.
"We hope that for that for this to be meaningful, our 60% must be reached in the next two to three years," John Nkengasong, director of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said at a press briefing Thursday. "We should be deliberate in this."
More than 2.2 million confirmed cases of COVID-19, including over 52,000 deaths, have been reported across the vast continent so far, representing a fraction of the world's cumulative count.
