New York health provider may have fraudulently obtained COVID-19 vaccine
The vaccine was then given to members of the public not yet eligible.
A pandemic of the novel coronavirus has now infected more than 80.2 million people worldwide and killed over 1.7 million of them, according to real-time data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.
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Dr. Birx says she plans to retire
Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus response coordinator, said she’s planning to retire but is available to help President-elect Joe Biden’s administration with the pandemic, The Associated Press reported.
2020 marks deadliest year in US history: AP
This year has become the deadliest year in U.S. history, with overall deaths expected to climb above 3 million for the first time, The Associated Press reported.
So far 320,864 Americans have lost their lives to COVID-19, according to Johns Hopkins University data.
Pregnant women in 3rd trimester unlikely to pass virus to newborns
Pregnant women with COVID-19 during the third trimester are unlikely to pass the infection to their newborns, according to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health and published in the journal JAMA Network Open.
The study followed 127 pregnant women, and among the 64 women in their third trimester who tested positive for COVID-19, no newborns tested positive.
ABC News’ Adjoa Smalls-Mantey and Eric Strauss contributed to this report.
New York hospitals to test for UK variant
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is instructing hospitals across the state to test specifically for the variant of the coronavirus discovered in the United Kingdom.
“If we find the variant, we want to know where it is immediately,” Cuomo said.
Cuomo said he does not support a travel ban from the U.K. into the U.S., but does believe the U.S. should follow New York state’s lead in requiring flights originating in the U.K. to have passengers test negative.
Dr. Anthony Fauci told ABC News’ “Good Morning America” Tuesday that “the possibility and maybe the likelihood of requiring the testing of individuals before they board a plane to the United States -- that is under active discussion.”
Fauci added, “you really need to assume” that the variant is already in the U.S.
ABC News’ Aaron Katersky contributed to this report.
Duke women's basketball calls off season due to COVID-19
The Duke women's basketball team has decided to end its season due to the coronavirus pandemic.
"The student-athletes on the Duke women's basketball team have made the difficult decision to conclude their current season due to safety concerns," Michael Schoenfeld, Duke's vice president for public affairs and government relations and chief communications officer, said in a statement. "We support their decision, as we have supported the choices made by all student-athletes at Duke during this unprecedented time."
The team suspended activities on Dec. 16 after two members of the program's "travel party" tested positive for COVID-19. It's unclear if they were players or staff, but contact tracing didn't allow for the team to field enough players.
The Blue Devils had gone 3-1 in the first four games under newly hired head coach Kara Lawson. The former Tennessee star and ESPN commentator said earlier this season she did not believe that college basketball games should proceed during the pandemic.
Duke men's coach, Hall of Famer Mike Krzyzewski, made similar comments this month as well. The men's team, currently ranked No. 20 in the AP poll, has continued to play.
The Duke women's team is the first major program to end their season.