COVID-19 updates: Elizabeth Warren tests positive

The senator says she's experiencing "mild symptoms."

Last Updated: December 20, 2021, 12:51 AM EST

As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5.3 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 806,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering.

About 61.4% of the population in the United States is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Latest headlines:

Here's how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Dec 17, 2021, 3:29 PM EST

New York state reports over 21K cases setting new pandemic record

New York state reported 21,027 cases Thursday, setting a new single-day high, Gov. Kathy Hochul's office said.

PHOTO: People wait in line to get tested for Covid-10 at a mobile testing site in Times Square in New York, Dec. 17, 2021.
People wait in line to get tested for Covid-10 at a mobile testing site in Times Square in New York, Dec. 17, 2021. New York City had been mostly spared the worst of the big surge in COVID-19 cases that has taken place across the northeastern and midwestern U.S. since Thanksgiving, but the situation has been changing rapidly in recent days.
Yuki Iwamura/AP

"The winter surge in COVID-19 cases is a reminder that the pandemic is not over yet and we must take extra care to keep ourselves and each other safe," Hochul said in a statement. "The vaccine is still our best weapon to defeat the virus."

-ABC News' Josh Hoyos

Dec 17, 2021, 2:56 PM EST

Southwest CEO tests positive after Senate hearing

Southwest CEO Gary Kelly has tested positive for COVID-19 after testifying at a Senate hearing Wednesday alongside other airline executives, a Southwest spokesperson said.

He was not masked during the hearing.

PHOTO: Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly speaks before the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee on Capitol Hill, Dec. 15, 2021. American Airlines CEO Doug Parker and United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby testify are also pictured.
Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly speaks before the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee on Capitol Hill, Dec. 15, 2021. American Airlines CEO Doug Parker and United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby testify are also pictured during testimony.
Pool/Reuters

Kelly, who is fully vaccinated and boosted, has mild symptoms, the spokesperson said.

ABC News reached out to the airlines whose executives were next to Kelly at the hearing.

United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby and Delta operations chief John Laughter tested negative Friday.

American Airlines CEO Doug Parker plans to test Friday afternoon, according to the airline. Sara Nelson, international president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, said she will test Friday and in the coming days.

Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell told ABC News that committee members will "follow the protocols" for testing.

-ABC News' Mina Kaji, Allison Pecorin and Sam Sweeney

Dec 17, 2021, 2:00 PM EST

National Guard to help Ohio with strained hospitals

More than 4,700 COVID-19 patients are in Ohio hospitals, the highest number of all of 2021 -- and hospitalization numbers are quickly approaching an all-time high, Gov. Mike DeWine's office said.

DeWine said he's calling up 1,050 National Guard members to help overwhelmed hospitals beginning on Monday.

Dec 17, 2021, 1:44 PM EST

Vaccine timeline pushed back for kids under 5 

The potential timeline for when children under 5 may have an authorized vaccine is now being pushed back. 

Data for a two-shot vaccine was initially expected by the end of the year, but now Pfizer/BioNTech say they hope to have data with a third shot in the first half of 2022. 

Pfizer/BioNTech said they "will amend the clinical study evaluating the safety, tolerability, and immunogenicity of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine in children 6 months to under 5 years of age. The study will now include evaluating a third dose of 3 µg at least two months after the second dose of the two-dose series to provide high levels of protection in this young age group." 

An early look into the study data suggested that the two doses at a smaller volume was not as effective for kids ages 2 to 5 as it was for the 16 to 25 population, so scientists are going to add a third dose and see if the vaccine is as effective. There were no safety issues reported in the early data analysis.

Pfizer/BioNTech added in a statement, “The decision to evaluate a third dose of 3 µg for children 6 months to under 5 years of age reflects the companies’ commitment to carefully select the right dose to maximize the risk-benefit profile. If the three-dose study is successful, Pfizer and BioNTech expect to submit data to regulators to support an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for children 6 months to under 5 years of age in the first half of 2022.”

-ABC News' Eric M. Strauss