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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Biden applauds COVID relief package but says more work is needed
President-elect Joe Biden has applauded the COVID-19 relief bill passed Monday by the House and Senate.
In a tweet early Tuesday morning, Biden voiced his approval of the package, but warned that Congress still has more work to do in the new year.
"I applaud this relief package, but our work is far from over. Starting in the new year, Congress will need to immediately get to work on support for our COVID-19 plan
My message to everyone out there struggling right now: help is on the way," he tweeted.
Top military officials receive COVID-19 vaccine
The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley and other top military officials received Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine Monday, according to a Joint Staff spokesman.
Milley's team tweeted photos of him, Vice Chairman Gen. John Hyten, and Senior Enlisted Advisor Ramón Colón-López Monday, each with a needle in his arm.
“Today I, along with the Vice Chairman and the SEAC, received the #COVID19 vaccine. It’s my distinct honor to represent the Joint Force in this capacity. This vaccine is safe and effective and will protect our force as we work to protect American citizens," Milley was quoted as saying in the official tweet.
Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Gilday also tweeted a photo of himself receiving the vaccine on Monday.
"By maximizing vaccination among our force and maintaining our mitigation measures of physical distancing, mask-wearing, and handwashing, we will begin the return to normal. Safe and healthy is the goal for 2021! Together, we will make this happen," the tweet read.
-ABC News' Matt Seyler
US hospitalizations reach new record
The U.S. broke another record for coronavirus hospitalizations Monday, the COVID Tracking Project reported.
There were 115,351 people hospitalized across the nation on Dec. 21, according to the health data.
The country recorded 178,191 new cases and 1,485 new deaths, the tracking project reported.
The seven-day average of hospitalizations, 113,912, and deaths, 2,631, broke records, according to the health data.
"COVID-19 deaths are rising in 19 states," the tracking project tweeted.
US deaths, cases continue to rise: HHS
The number of new coronavirus cases and deaths jumped over the last seven days, according to an internal U.S. Department of Health and Human Services memo obtained by ABC News.
In the last week, the country recorded 1,677,232 new cases, which was a 13.6% increase from the previous seven-day period, according to the memo.
There were 18,578 deaths recorded during the last seven days, marking a 9.2% jump from the previous week, according to HHS.
Nearly 30% of hospitals across the country have more than 80% of their ICU beds filled, the memo said.
Several states recorded large jumps in hospitalizations last week, according to HHS.
On Dec 18, Louisiana state officials reported its 30-day increase in hospitalization was 82% and there were only 19.1% of ICU beds were available, according to the memo.
Nevada's COVID-19 deaths increased by 21% in the week ending Dec. 15, compared to the prior week, HHS said.
-ABC News' Josh Margolin contributed to this report
Fauci asks Americans to 'tone things down' for Christmas
Dr. Anthony Fauci told The Washington Post that his message for Christmas is to "tone things down," including gathering outdoors when possible, wearing a mask when not eating or drinking, and keeping gatherings to as few people as possible and within your household.
Fauci is not only celebrating Christmas on Thursday, but also his 80th birthday. And for the first time, Fauci won’t be with his daughters for the big day.
"This is the first time since the birth of my daughters, and they are now in their late 20s and early 30s, that we have not been together on Christmas Eve,” Fauci said. “I'm not alone in this feeling that kind of pain of separation from our loved ones.”
His milestone birthday was marked with a surprise Zoom party organized by his wife.
"I want to practice what I preach. I don't want to tell the country to do something that I'm not willing to do myself,” Fauci said. “I was just on a Zoom call with the girls ... I think I lost about a liter of fluid in tears, to be honest, with hearing their expressions of love and concern to me. But we ended it on a happy note because we know that sooner or later, very likely sooner, as we get into 2021 and things get better and vaccines help us, that this time next year we'll be back again with the Fauci family celebrating.”
ABC News’ Stephanie Ebbs contributed to this report.