Coronavirus updates: 23-year-old college student dies from COVID-19

Jamesha Waddell, a senior at Livingstone College, died Thursday.

ByMorgan Winsor, Emily Shapiro, Erin Schumaker, Ivan Pereira, Jon Haworth, and Meredith Deliso
Last Updated: November 20, 2020, 5:52 PM EST

A pandemic of the novel coronavirus has now killed more than 1.3 million people worldwide.

Over 58.7 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 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. The criteria for diagnosis -- through clinical means or a lab test -- has also varied from country to country.

The United States is the worst-affected nation, with more than 12.2 million diagnosed cases and at least 256,783 deaths.

Nearly 200 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.

Latest headlines:

Here's how the news developed. All times Eastern.
Nov 20, 2020, 5:52 PM EST

FDA to review Pfizer vaccine on Dec. 10

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced Thursday that its vaccine advisory committee will meet Dec. 10 to discuss the request for emergency use authorization of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine candidate.

The public meeting will be a chance for both FDA career scientists and members of the independent advisory board to ask Pfizer questions about its product. 

After that, the board will make a recommendation, which the FDA will take into account when it decides whether to authorize the vaccine.

Officials said they cannot predict how long the FDA's review will take, but that it will be "as expeditiously as possible, while still doing so in a thorough and science-based manner."

ABC News' Anne Flaherty contributed to this report

Nov 20, 2020, 5:17 PM EST

California sets new record with more than 13,000 daily cases

California broke its daily case record with 13,005 newly recorded cases.

California's seven-day positivity rate stands at 5.9%.

With over 1.07 million cases, California trails only Texas, which last reported 1.1 million cases.

ABC News' Alex Stone contributed to this report.

Nov 20, 2020, 3:15 PM EST

FDA could approve emergency use of Pfizer vaccine in December

Pfizer said it's completed its submission to the Food and Drug Administration in which the company requests emergency use authorization for its vaccine.

A nurse attends to a patient in the COVID-19 intensive care unit at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, Calif., Nov. 19, 2020.
Lucy Nicholson/Reuters

The FDA is expected to start digging into the efficacy and safety data immediately, and it could make a decision as early as mid-December.

ABC News' Sony Salzman contributed to this report.

Nov 20, 2020, 1:43 PM EST

Cases double in Kansas counties without mask mandate

A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that Kansas counties that opted out of a statewide July 3 mask mandate saw COVID-19 cases jump 100% from July 3 to Aug. 23.

While 81 counties opted out of the mandate, the 24 that adhered to it saw a 6% decrease in cases, according to the CDC.

ABC News' Sony Salzman contributed to this report.

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