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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Need to acknowledge past racial disparities to build up trust, surgeon general says
U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams appeared on ABC's "This Week" on Sunday and discussed the skepticism from many African Americans about the COVID-19 vaccine and how the community can be convinced it's safe and effective.
Adams said acknowledging the history of medical racism and what's still happening in the U.S. today is key.
"I've talked about Tuskegee. I've talked about Henrietta Lacks. But there are real issues going on today, right now in this country, when you look at 700 women dying of pregnancy-related complications, most of them black and brown in the United States. When you look at not just hypertension and cancer disparities," Adams said.
The surgeon general said health equity is critical.
"We need to engage with trusted influencers. We need to make sure our pastors, and imams and rabbis, all of whom I'm working with, have the facts so that they can spread it to -- to their congregants," he said. "I want people to know that as a scientist, as a doctor, I've looked at the data. I know the protections that are in place. I know an African-American female helped develop this vaccine and Tony Fauci and I made sure that the trials were enrolled with diverse participants."
Canada reports cases of UK COVID-19 variant
Two confirmed cases of the COVID-19 variant observed in the United Kingdom have been identified in Ontario, Canada, the country's Public Health Agency said in a statement on Saturday.
The agency also restated guidance from the World Health Organization that while these new variants may be more transmissible, to date there is no evidence that they cause more severe disease or have any impact on antibody response or vaccine effectiveness.
Norway also reported cases of the variant on Sunday. The cases were identified in two people who traveled to Norway from the U.K. in December, according to the Norwegian Institute of Public Health.
-ABC News' Christine Theodorou
EU begins vaccinating adults, health care workers
European Union nations have officially started vaccinating their citizens.
Shots of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine were given to health care workers and vulnerable adults Sunday morning.
The news comes as countries like Italy and Spain continue to see rising COVID-19 cases.
NY health care provider accused of vaccine 'scheme'
A health care provider in New York has been accused of misappropriating coronavirus vaccines.
In what amounts to a line-skipping scheme, the New York State Health Department and the State Police are investigating Orange County health care provider Parcare Community Health Network for an alleged maneuver to violate the state's distribution plan.
State Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker said Parcare "may have fraudulently obtained COVID-19 vaccine, transferred it to facilities in other parts of the state ... and diverted it to members of the public."
This would run directly contrary to New York's current plan for "1A" distribution, which prioritizes front-line health care workers, nursing home residents and staff.
"We take this very seriously," Zucker said in a statement. "Anyone found to have knowingly participated in this scheme will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law."
ParCare Community Health Network told ABC News in a statement, "During these unprecedented times, we have striven to provide critical healthcare services and administer COVID-19 vaccinations to those qualified to receive them under the New York State Department of Health's guidelines, which includes frontline healthcare workers and first responders. Parcare Community Health Network has a long history of partnering with the City of New York to provide vital healthcare services to New Yorkers who need them most - including providing COVID-19 testing - especially for New Yorkers in medically underserved communities who've been hardest hit by COVID-19. As we actively cooperate with the New York State Department of Health on this matter, we will continue to perform top-quality healthcare services to help New York come out of this pandemic."
In October, New York's Test and Trace Corps announced an expanded partnership with ParCare to provide free COVID-19 testing and resources for the Orthodox Jewish community.
-ABC News' Sasha Pezenik and Aaron Katersky
Hospitalizations now nearly double spring, summer peaks
Over the last 24 hours, more than two Americans tested positive for COVID-19 every second, and two deaths reported every minute, according to ABC News’ analysis of data compiled by the COVID Tracking Project.
More Americans are now hospitalized with COVID-19 than ever before. There are 119,163 Americans currently hospitalized, marking the 19th day that the U.S. has hit a record high of current hospitalizations this month.
Current hospitalizations have increased by nearly 40% in the last month. The total number of patients hospitalized is now approximately double the spring and summer peaks in April and July.
Hospitalizations are on the rise in every region of the country except for the Midwest. Over 44,000 people are hospitalized in the South and over 30,500 people are hospitalized the West -- both record highs.
California has the most hospitalizations of any state with more than 19,000 hospitalized, followed by Texas, New York and Pennsylvania.
ABC News’ Arielle Mitropoulos contributed to this report.