Coronavirus updates: 1st vaccines now on the way to all 50 US states

Two main trucks left the Pfizer facility on Sunday morning, the company said.

ByMorgan Winsor, Erin Schumaker, Ivan Pereira, Emily Shapiro, Meredith Deliso, and Rosa Sanchez
Last Updated: December 12, 2020, 4:05 PM EST

A pandemic of the novel coronavirus has now infected more than 71.5 million people and killed over 1.6 million worldwide, according to real-time data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.

Latest headlines:

Here's how the news developed this week. All times Eastern.
Dec 12, 2020, 4:05 PM EST

Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices votes to recommend Pfizer vaccine

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, an independent group of medical experts that advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in a virtual meeting on Saturday voted 11-0 recommending the Pfizer vaccine for Americans 16 years and older.

Three committee members recused themselves because they had a conflict of interest. 

This recommendation now heads to CDC Director Robert Redfield, who must sign off before doses can be administered.

Healthcare workers take part in a rehearsal for the administration of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at Indiana University Health in Indianapolis, Dec. 11, 2020.
Bryan Woolston/Reuters

A shipment of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccines is unloaded from a United Airlines cargo-only flight from Brussels to O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, Dec. 2, 2020.
United Airlines via Reuters

 

ABC News’ Lauren Lantry contributed to this report.

Dec 12, 2020, 3:59 PM EST

Country music legend Charley Pride dies from virus

Country music legend Charley Pride died of COVID-19 complications on Saturday.

Last month, the 86-year-old performed at the CMA Awards, where he accepted the Lifetime Achievement Award.

Charley Pride performs onstage during the The 54th Annual CMA Awards at Nashville, Nov. 11, 2020.
Getty Images, FILE

Pride was the first Black member of the Country Music Hall of Fame.

“Between 1967 and 1987, Pride delivered 52 Top 10 country hits, won Grammy awards, and became RCA Records’ top-selling country artist,” said the statement announcing his death. “His musicality opened minds and superseded prejudice.“

Dec 12, 2020, 3:31 PM EST

California breaks records for daily cases, daily deaths, total hospitalizations

California broke new records on Saturday for daily cases (over 35,700), daily deaths (225) and total hospitalizations (13,410).

PHOTO: A bicyclist rides near the University of California, Davis Medical center in Sacramento, Calif., Dec. 11, 2020.
A bicyclist rides near the University of California, Davis Medical center in Sacramento, Calif., Friday, Dec. 11, 2020. The medical center is one of more than a half-dozen California health centers that are expected to receive the 327,000 doses of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine.
Rich Pedroncelli/AP

Vehicles are lined up for coronavirus testing at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds in San Jose, Calif., Dec. 11, 2020.
Jim WIlson/The New York Times via Redux

Gov. Gavin Newsom has issued stay-at-home orders to regions if their intensive care unit capacity falls below 15%. The San Joaquin Valley, Southern California and the Greater Sacramento region all have fallen below that threshold, while the Bay Area and Northern California have not.

ICU capacity in the San Joaquin Valley fell to 0% on Saturday and was at 5.3% in Southern California.

 ABC News’ Matt Fuhrman contributed to this report.

Dec 12, 2020, 12:22 PM EST

1st vaccines to arrive at 145 sites on Monday

Pfizer said it expects to have the vaccines rolling out of its Kalamazoo, Michigan, facility on Sunday morning.

A person wearing a protective face mask walks past the Pfizer Inc. headquarters in New York, Dec. 11, 2020.
Bryan Smith/Zuma Press

The first shipments are expected to arrive at 145 sites on Monday, 425 sites on Tuesday and another 66 sites on Wednesday, Gen. Gus Perna of the Trump administration's Operation Warp Speed vaccine program said.

At those sites, the vaccines will be paired with ancillary kits to assist with the vaccinations. The kits contain needles, syringes, alcohol swabs, diluent, safety gear and vaccine reminder cards.

ABC News' Luis Martinez contributed to this report.

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