Coronavirus updates: US reports nearly 300,000 new cases in all-time high

A Virginia state senator has died of the coronavirus, officials announced.

State Sen. Ben Chafin, 60, was hospitalized for the last two weeks with the virus, according to a press release. The Republican lawmaker had served in the state Senate since 2014. He is survived by his wife and three children, according to his office.

Gov. Ralph Northam ordered the Virginia state flag to be lowered immediately over the state Capitol and remain at half staff until Chafin's internment.

"This is sad news to begin a new year with the loss of a kind and gracious man. May we all recommit to taking extra steps to care for one another," the governor said in a statement.

-ABC News' Greg Bradbury contributed to this report.

About 41 West Virginian patients who earlier received the Regeneron monoclonal antibody treatment instead of the Moderna vaccine ultimately got their first shot of a vaccine Thursday, the West Virginia National Guard told ABC News.

The patients were among the 44 people who were identified on Dec. 31 as receiving the wrong treatment at a vaccination clinic hosted by staff at the Boone County Health Department.

The National Guard did not say which vaccine those patients received when they got the correct shot.

Their first shots come despite recommendations by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that patients who receive monoclonal antibodies or convalescent plasma should defer vaccinations for at least 90 days.

-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos contributed to this report

Pfizer and its partner BioNTech have plans to begin offering their COVID-19 vaccine to clinical trial volunteers who received placebo by March 1, several months earlier than initially planned, STAT reported.

The FDA and its advisers had pushed hard for volunteers to remain on placebo as long as possible to gather more safety and efficacy data about the vaccines, while the companies argued that volunteers should receive the vaccines sooner for both ethical and practical reasons.

-ABC News' Eric M. Strauss

New York state saw 166 deaths Thursday -- the highest number of deaths in a single day since May 12.

On Thursday, 219,523 test results were reported to New York state, and 7.52% were positive, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's office reported.

There were 7,886 patient hospitalizations statewide, 1,292 patients in intensive care units and 776 intubated.

-ABC News' Joshua Hoyos