Coronavirus updates: State reports over 49,000 new cases, 468 new deaths

In the wake of the slower-than-expected vaccine distribution, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams told ABC News’ "Good Morning America" Wednesday, "we are quickly ramping up."

Operation Warp Speed promised 20 million vaccines by the end of 2020. As of Tuesday morning, 4.8 million had been vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"We’re now approaching 500,000 vaccinations per day," Adams said, highlighting the increase in priority groups and locations where the vaccine is offered.

"We're going to make sure we're putting vaccines and supplies where the demand actually is. And you're going to continue to see these rates ramp up," Adams said. "It is by no means as good as we would want it to be, but I want the American people to keep this in perspective: most difficult vaccine rollout in history. It’s ramping up and you'll see things rapidly increase over the next couple of weeks."

The European Medicines Agency has recommended granting a conditional marketing authorization for Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine for people who are at least 18 years old.

This is the second vaccine the EMA has recommended for authorization. The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine was approved by the EU in December.

The EMA cited a large clinical trial, involving around 30,000 people, that showed a 94.1% efficacy rate.

“This vaccine provides us with another tool to overcome the current emergency,” said Emer Cooke, executive director of EMA. “It is a testament to the efforts and commitment of all involved that we have this second positive vaccine recommendation just short of a year since the pandemic was declared by WHO.

The European Commission must give final approval of the conditional marketing authorization in order for the vaccine to be distributed, but that appears to be a formality.

-ABC News' Christine Theodorou contributed to this report.

The United States recorded it's deadliest day since the start of the coronavirus pandemic on Tuesday, according to the latest data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

There were 3,775 deaths from COVID-19 registered nationwide -- the previous record was on Dec. 30 when 3,744 fatalities from the disease were logged.

It should be noted that the holidays have impacted data being reported and are expected to continue to be skewed over the coming days.

The U.S. now has 375,385 deaths related to COVID-19, according to Johns Hopkins data.

-ABC News' Ahmad Hemingway contributed to this report.

The White House Coronavirus Task Force is calling on states to push ahead with vaccinations, particularly among senior citizens, according to a new report obtained by ABC News.

States should not "delay the rapid immunization of those over 65 and vulnerable to severe disease," the report said. It also recommended creating vaccination sites with EMTs on hand to deal with any allergic reactions and using nursing students to help with the rollout.

"No vaccines should be in freezers but should instead be put in arms now; active and aggressive immunization in the face of this surge would save lives," the memo said.

Operation Warp Speed officials announced on Tuesday that 19,141,175 vaccine doses have been delivered so far. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's data shows 17,020,575 doses have been distributed and 4,836,469 Americans have received a dose.

-ABC News' Josh Margolin