A pandemic of the novel coronavirus has now killed more than 1 million people worldwide.
Over 38.4 million people across the globe have been diagnosed with COVID-19, the disease caused by the new respiratory virus, according to data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. The criteria for diagnosis -- through clinical means or a lab test -- has varied from country-to-country. Still, the actual numbers are believed to be much higher due to testing shortages, many unreported cases and suspicions that some national governments are hiding or downplaying the scope of their outbreaks.
Since the first cases were detected in China in December, the virus has rapidly spread to every continent except Antarctica.
The United States is the worst-affected country, with more than 7.9 million diagnosed cases and at least 216,639 deaths.
California has the most cases of any U.S. state, with more than 865,000 people diagnosed, according to Johns Hopkins data. California is followed by Texas and Florida, with over 830,000 cases and over 741,000 cases, respectively.
More than 190 vaccine candidates for COVID-19 are being tracked by the World Health Organization, at least 10 of which are in crucial phase three studies. Of those 10 potential vaccines in late-stage trials, there are currently five that will be available in the United States if approved.
Here's how the news developed today. All times Eastern.
Oct 14, 2020, 2:04 PM EDT
'Herd immunity' is not the answer for solving the pandemic, officials say
Promoting the concept of "herd immunity" or "community immunity," a form of indirect protection from infectious disease that occurs when a certain percentage of a population has become immune, is "inappropriate, irresponsible and ill-informed," Thomas M. File Jr., president of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, announced in a statement Wednesday.
While the concept is the goal of vaccination campaigns, it "should never come at the cost of the planned exposure and infection of millions of additional people," File said.
ABC News' Eric Strauss contributed to this report.
Oct 14, 2020, 1:50 PM EDT
Russia prepares to test 2nd COVID-19 vaccine on 40,000 volunteers
Russia has registered a second COVID-19 vaccine and is preparing to test it on 40,000 volunteers, according to Russian officials.
The vaccine, called "EpiVakKorona," was produced by the 'Vector' State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology in Novosibirsk, a top state lab that since Soviet times has also been a key biological warfare center.
Unlike the first vaccine, Sputnik V, the new vaccine is not based on a modified adenovirus but instead is a "peptide" type vaccine that uses artificially synthesized fragments of the coronavirus itself to produce an immune response. It is administered in two doses, 21 days apart, according to Russian news agency TASS.
Caution must be used when giving it to patients suffering from chronic kidney and liver illnesses, as well as epilepsy and heart illnesses, TASS reported.
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting vis video conference at the Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow, Oct. 14, 2020.
Alexei Druzhinin/Sputnik/Kremlin Pool Photo via AP
So far the vaccine has been tested on about 100 people, but it has not yet passed key clinical trials. The vaccine will now undergo, in effect, a phase 3 trial.
Sputnik V could be widely distributed in Russia by late October or early November, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund Kirill Dmitriev announced on Monday, according to TASS.
A third Russian vaccine is also on the way -- produced by the M.P. Chumakov Federal Scientific Center for Research and Development of Immuno-biological Drugs, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced Wednesday. A phase 3 trial for that vaccine will begin Monday.
ABC News’ Patrick Reevell contributed to this report.
Oct 14, 2020, 1:11 PM EDT
Funding to be withheld for New York schools in 'red zones'
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo will withhold funding from schools in "red zones" that remain open –- both public and private –- until matters are resolve to the states liking, Cuomo announced during a conference call Wednesday.
Just over 1,200 people tested positive and seven people died in the state on Tuesday, Cuomo said. The test positivity rate in the "red zone" areas is 6.2%, while the statewide positivity rate excluding Red Zones is .95%.
ABC News’ J. Gabriel Ware contributed to this report.
Oct 14, 2020, 12:58 PM EDT
Trump seeking emergency approval for Regeneron
President Donald Trump is working to get emergency approval for Regeneron, the antibody treatment that he himself received after contracting COVID-19.
President Donald Trump removes his face mask to speak from the Blue Room Balcony of the White House to a crowd of supporters, Oct. 10, 2020, in Washington.
Alex Brandon/AP
The treatment made him "feel very good very fast," he told reporters from the Rose Garden of the White House on Wednesday morning.
"They call it a therapeutic, but I don't think it was therapeutic," Trump said. "I think it was a cure. For me, it was something that was very good. Who knows, maybe it would have happened anyway, maybe I would have recovered beautifully anyway. All I know is once I had Regeneron it worked out very well."
