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COVID-19 live updates: 'Extremely unlikely' virus came from Chinese lab, WHO says

WHO experts said it's more likely the virus jumped to humans from an animal.

Last Updated: February 12, 2021, 3:44 PM EST

A pandemic of the novel coronavirus has now infected more than 106 million people worldwide and killed over 2.3 million, according to real-time data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.

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Here's how the news is developing today. All times Eastern.
Feb 08, 2021, 3:06 PM EST

Nearly 3 million children in US have tested positive since pandemic began

More than 117,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 among children were reported in the United States last week, representing a 10% increase in cases between Jan. 21 and Feb. 4, according to a report released Monday by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children's Hospital Association.

The report, which compiles state-by-state data on infections among kids, found that 2.9 million children have tested positive for COVID-19 nationwide since the start of the pandemic. In total, children represent 12.9% of all cases in U.S. states that report COVID-19 data by age.

ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos contributed to this report.

Feb 08, 2021, 1:08 PM EST

Facebook announces campaign to promote authoritative COVID-19 information

Facebook announced Monday a global campaign to promote authoritative COVID-19 sources and push back on disinformation.

The effort will including helping people find out where and when to get vaccinated, expanding the social media company's efforts to remove false COVID-19 information from Facebook and Instagram, and giving $120 million in advertising credits to health ministries, NGOs and UN agencies.

Logo of the social networking service Facebook in Helsinki, Finland, Feb. 4, 2021.
Emmi Korhonen/Shutterstock

Facebook also said it would provide data for education to help build trust in COVID-19 vaccines, as well as to inform vaccine delivery efforts.

ABC News' Mary Kathryn Burke contributed to this report.

Feb 08, 2021, 11:50 AM EST

10% of US population has received 1 or more vaccine doses

Ten percent of Americans, or 31.6 million people, have received one or more doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, according to a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services planning document obtained by ABC News.

Three percent of the population, or 9.1 million people, have gotten both shots of the two-dose vaccine, according to the document.

People check in to receives a Pfizer Covid-19 vaccines at a vaccination center established at the Triton College in River Grove, Ill., Feb. 3, 2021.
Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP via Getty Images, FILE

U.S. President Joe Biden has pledged to get 100 million shots into Americans' arms during the first 100 days of his presidency. Since his Jan. 20 inauguration, 24.6 million doses have been administered.

ABC News' Josh Margolin and Brian Hartman contributed to this report.

Feb 08, 2021, 11:26 AM EST

US congressman dies after contracting COVID-19

U.S. Rep. Ron Wright, R-Texas, died Sunday after contracting COVID-19 last month, his office confirmed in a statement Monday.

Wright, who had lung cancer, was diagnosed with the disease on Jan. 21 and admitted to Baylor Hospital in Dallas. He was 67.

Rep.-elect Ron Wright attends a new member welcome briefing at the Capitol Visitor Center, Nov. 15, 2018, in Washington, DC.
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images

"Over the past few years, Congressman Wright had kept a rigorous work schedule on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives and at home in Texas’ Congressional District 6 while being treated for cancer," his office said.

Wright is the second American lawmaker to die after testing positive for COVID-19. Luke Letlow, Louisiana's incoming Republican congressman, died at age 41 in late December, just days before he was due to be sworn in.

ABC News' Mariam Khan contributed to this report.

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