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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US cases and deaths show dramatic increases: HHS
COVID-19 cases and deaths continued to grow dramatically following Thanksgiving, according to an internal memo from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that was obtained by ABC News.
The country recorded 1,414,153 new cases between Dec. 3 and Dec. 9, according to HHS. This represents a 25.4% increase from the previous seven-day period, the memo said.
There were 15,588 new deaths recorded from Dec. 3 to Dec. 9, which was a 44.9% jump in new fatalities compared with the previous week, according to the memo.
Roughly 31% of U.S. hospitals have more than 80% of their intensive care unit beds filled, HHS reported.
Several states saw new records during the last seven days, according to the memo.
In Alabama, new weekly coronavirus deaths increased by 158% with 312 new fatalities recorded, according to HHS.
On Dec. 7, 19 Georgia hospital ICUs could not accept any more patients, the memo said.
-ABC News' Josh Margolin
FDA authorizes over-the-counter home COVID-19 test
The FDA authorized LabCorp’s Pixel COVID-19 Test Home Collection Kit Wednesday for use by patients 18 years and older without a prescription.
The test allows a customer to self-collect a nasal swab sample at home and then send that sample for testing to LabCorp. The company will phone the customer with the results.
The at-home test is currently available for purchase online and the company is taking requests from retailers to sell it in stores.
LabCorp told ABC News it will screen requests to limit it to people who meet the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention criteria for testing in order to limit backlogs in their labs.
-ABC News' Stephanie Ebbs and Ali Dukakis
LA County health director breaks down as over 9,200 new cases recorded
Los Angeles County Health Director Barbara Ferrer broke down as she revealed the latest tallies of coronavirus cases and deaths Wednesday.
There were 9,243 new cases and 75 new deaths recorded Wednesday, according to the health department. The county has seen 475,271 total cases and 8,075 total deaths during the pandemic.
"The more terrible truth is that over 8,000 people who were beloved members of their families are not coming back and their deaths are an incalculable loss to their friends and their family, as well as our community," Ferrer said while breaking down in tears.
Roughly 3,200 people currently hospitalized with COVID-19 in Los Angeles, 23% of whom are in the intensive care unit and 15% on ventilators, according to the health department.
"Given that we are just now seeing the hospitalizations from the Thanksgiving holiday, we anticipate that the number will continue to grow over the next few weeks with potentially 700 new daily COVID hospitalizations in just one week from now," Dr. Christina Ghaly, director of the LA County Health Services Department, said.
-ABC News' Cammeron Parrish
Big Ten Conference changes rules, Ohio State eligible for championship game
The Big Ten Conference Administrators Council voted Wednesday to eliminate the game minimum requirement for teams to play in the conference championship, clearing the way for Ohio State to play for the title despite only playing five games this season due to COVID-19 cancellations.
Among the cancellations was this weekend's game against University of Michigan after Michigan reported "an increasing number of positive COVID-19 cases and student-athletes in quarantine."
The conference said, "The decision was based on a competitive analysis which determined that Ohio State would have advanced to the Big Ten Football Championship Game based on its undefeated record and head-to-head victory over Indiana regardless of a win or loss against Michigan."
Ohio State will play Northwestern in the Big Ten Football Championship Game.
The conference had voted prior to the season that a team must played at least six games to qualify for the title game.
Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices votes to recommend Pfizer vaccine
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, an independent group of medical experts that advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in a virtual meeting on Saturday voted 11-0 recommending the Pfizer vaccine for Americans 16 years and older.
Three committee members recused themselves because they had a conflict of interest.
This recommendation now heads to CDC Director Robert Redfield, who must sign off before doses can be administered.
ABC News’ Lauren Lantry contributed to this report.