Coronavirus updates: 1st vaccines now on the way to all 50 US states
Two main trucks left the Pfizer facility on Sunday morning, the company said.
A pandemic of the novel coronavirus has now infected more than 71.5 million people and killed over 1.6 million worldwide, according to real-time data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.
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Nikki Haley says sister-in-law has died from COVID
Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley has announced on Twitter that her sister-in-law Rhonda Lee Nelson has died from COVID-19.
Nelson, 53, who passed away on Nov. 25, resided in West Milton, Ohio, according to the Associated Press, and was a singer and piano musician who "ministered to many inside and outside of the church."
“Today we said goodbye to Michael’s sister, Rhonda, who passed the day before Thanksgiving of Covid. She ministered to many inside and outside of the church. She loved God, her family & all who knew her. She will be missed,” Haley said in her tweet.
No other details were provided regarding Nelson’s death but the seven-day rolling average of daily new cases in the state of Ohio has been on the rise in recent weeks, according to the Associated Press, and one in every 193 people in the state have tested positive for the novel coronavirus in just the past week alone.
Ravens receiver tests positive before gametime
Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Dez Bryant tweeted he would not be playing Tuesday after he tested positive for the coronavirus minutes before kickoff against the Dallas Cowboys.
Bryant said he was warming up with the team on the field -- with a mask on -- when he was pulled off by team officials for further testing.
Fox Sports reported an earlier COVID-19 test came back inconclusive and had to be retested.
Bryant reacted angrily on social media, as the former long-time Cowboys player had been looking forward to facing his former team. He tweeted he had the same routine and the positive test made no sense to him, before saying he was going to call it quits for the rest of the season.
Two weeks ago, the Ravens experienced a coronavirus outbreak among players and staff. Twenty-three players and staff were put on the COVID-19 list, including reigning MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson.
The team had to postpone its Thanksgiving Day against the Pittsburgh Steelers three times. It also prompted this week's game to be pushed back to Tuesday.
Record hospitalizations, deaths continue to rise
The U.S. has over 104,000 people hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Tuesday, setting a new daily record, according to The COVID Tracking Project.
The seven-day average of hospitalizations is also at a record high of 101,659, according to the health data.
The country reported 213,498 new cases and 2,622 new deaths Tuesday.
The seven-day averages for new cases and deaths hit records Tuesday, at 202,158 and 2,225, respectively, according to the health data.
Vaccine won't help curb cases until spring: White House report
The coronavirus vaccine will not substantially reduce the spread of the virus until the spring, according to the White House coronavirus task force's weekly briefing for governors. The report was obtained by ABC News.
The briefing said it will take at least 100 million Americans to be immunized before viral spread, hospitalizations or fatalities can go down.
"Behavioral change and aggressive mitigation policies are the only widespread prevention tools that we have to address this winter surge," the task force report said.
The task force noted that state and local governments aren't implementing the same mitigation policies that curbed cases back in the summer.
It also said 2,000 counties are in COVID-19 red zones.
"This current fall to winter surge continues to spread to every corner of the U.S., from small towns to large cities, from farms to beach communities," the report said.
-ABC News' Brian Hartman and Josh Margolin
2 trucks with COVID-19 vaccines have left facility, Pfizer says
The first vaccines in the U.S. have now left the Pfizer facility and are on their way to all 50 states.
Two main trucks left on Sunday morning -- an additional truck will come in later to pick up a few boxes and take them to the U.S. territories.
On Monday Pfizer has an order for another 400 boxes of the vaccine as well as an order for a slightly less amount of boxes on Tuesday, the company said.
The first shipments are expected to arrive at 145 sites on Monday, 425 sites on Tuesday and another 66 sites on Wednesday, Gen. Gus Perna of the Trump administration's Operation Warp Speed vaccine program said.
At those sites, the vaccines will be paired with ancillary kits to assist with the vaccinations. The kits contain needles, syringes, alcohol swabs, diluent, safety gear and vaccine reminder cards.
-ABC News' Joshua Hoyos and Luis Martinez