Coronavirus updates: US will soon have 'half a million' deaths, CDC says

Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California, opened as a mass COVID-19 vaccination site Wednesday.

About 3,000 people were expected to receive the vaccine on the first day, with about an hour-and-a-half wait time, county officials said. The site ultimately should be able to vaccinate over 7,000 people a day, Orange County First District Chairman Andrew Do said at a press briefing.

Vaccinations are by appointment only. Those without an appointment and proper identification will be turned away, the Orange County Health Care Agency warned repeatedly on Twitter Wednesday.

Over 10,000 people signed up for a slot within two hours of online registration opening on Tuesday, officials said. Disneyland has been closed to parkgoers since last spring.

Other mass vaccination sites are slated to open in the hard-hit state, including Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles and Cal Expo in Sacramento. Petco Park in San Diego also opened earlier this week as a vaccination site.

People in Phase 1A -- health care workers and long-term care residents -- currently have the highest priority to receive vaccines in California.

On Wednesday, the state announced that people 65 and older are also now eligible, in an effort to help speed up vaccine distribution.

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ABC News Abigail Shalawylo contributed to this report.

COVID-19 cases continue to be significantly lower in younger kids, even as some went back to school in-person, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

The incidence of COVID-19 in children, particularly those ages 0 to 10, has been lower than that of young adults and adults throughout the entire second half of 2020, according to the CDC. The incidence of COVID-19 cases in kids was higher as the age increased.

While older teenagers and young adults saw a surge of cases near the beginning of the school year, this was not seen in younger kids, "suggesting that young adults might contribute more to community transmission than do younger children," the report said.

Children also had significantly lower rates of hospitalizations, intensive care unit stays and death than adults, the study found.

Fewer COVID-19 tests are performed on children, so the actual incidence may be higher than the data that's available. 

Teacher and school employee transmission risk also were not included in the data. 

The CDC continues to recommend strict mitigation strategies to prevent transmission in schools that are in-person.

-ABC News' Dr. Rose Marie Leslie

Texas reported a record number of daily COVID-19 fatalities on Wednesday.

There were 405 new deaths, based on state health department data.

The state also reported 26,808 new and probable cases and 14,106 current hospitalizations. 

Late Tuesday, Texas became the second state to cross 2 million diagnosed cases of COVID-19, following California.

California and New Jersey officials on Wednesday announced new groups eligible for the vaccine.

In New Jersey, beginning Thursday, all residents ages 65 and above will be eligible, as well as people between the ages of 16 and 64 with medical conditions defined by the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention that increase risk for severe illness from COVID-19.

“This is folks with chronic, real-time health challenges,” Gov. Phil Murphy said.

The CDC defines those as: cancer, chronic kidney disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, immunocompromised state (weakened immune system) from solid organ transplant, obesity and severe obesity, sickle cell disease, smoking, type 2 diabetes mellitus, pregnancy and heart conditions such as heart failure, coronary artery disease or cardiomyopathies.

"Smoking puts you at significant risk for an adverse result from COVID-19 and there are 2 million smokers in New Jersey that fit into this category," said Commissioner of the Department of Health, Judy Persichilli.

In California, people ages 65 and older are the next group eligible to get vaccinated.

“With our hospitals crowded and ICUs full, we need to focus on vaccinating Californians who are at highest risk of becoming hospitalized to alleviate stress on our health care facilities,” Dr. Tomás Aragón, director of the California Department of Public Health and State Public Health Officer, said in a statement.

ABC News' Eric Strauss contributed to this report.