New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio unveiled his 2021 student achievement plan, which will focus on getting students caught up after, for some, 18 months of remote learning.

“Clearly there will be a COVID achievement gap and we have to close that COVID achievement gap,” the mayor said.

Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza said the plan is to: get a baseline of what ground was lost; increase the high-quality digital curriculum available for every single school; launch a one-stop digital learning hub; deepen professional development; expand Parent University (the "online learning and empowerment platform" for families); and confront the trauma and mental health crisis within schools.

ABC News' Aaron Katersky contributed to this report.

In South Korea, more than 3,000 COVID-19 patients were identified in the last week, and in the Seoul area, as of Wednesday 506 were unable to be taken to hospitals this week due to bed shortages, Yonhap reported. 

South Korea reported 682 new cases and eight more deaths on Thursday, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency reported.

The nation now has over 40,000 confirmed cases.

The Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee, an independent panel of infectious disease experts, doctors and scientists, is meeting Thursday to recommend if the Pfizer vaccine should be considered safe and effective in the U.S.

Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Stephen Hahn told “Good Morning America” Thursday that he wouldn’t “prejudge” what the advisory committee would vote, but said the FDA will act “quickly” afterward.

“FDA's reviewers are mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters. We totally understand the urgency of this situation, and we are working around the clock on behalf of America,” Hahn said. “FDA scientists are known around the world for their expertise. We are a regulatory gold standard for the authorization or approval of medical products, including vaccines. We intend to do and we have done a very thorough review to get this right, to get all the answers we possibly can from the data.”

Hahn also said the FDA was “working very closely with our U.K. partners” after two people who received the vaccine in the U.K. had severe allergic reactions.

Hahn told NBC that it was “possible” that the FDA could advise people with significant allergies to not get the vaccine.

Hahn said the allergy issue would be discussed at Thursday’s meeting but added that the FDA stands by “our initial assessment” that Pfizer’s vaccine “does meet our criteria.”

ABC News' Ben Gittleson contributed to this report.

Just as the U.S. surpassed 280,000 deaths from coronavirus on Saturday, Dec. 5, the country is likely to pass 290,000 deaths later today.

The current death toll stands at 289,373, according to the latest data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

This comes on the heels of new records reported yesterday in highest single-day total and seven-day average of new daily deaths -- 3,054 and 2,276 respectively -- according to The COVID Tracking Project.

ABC News' Ahmad Hemingway contributed to this report.

U.S. President-elect Joe Biden on Monday announced key nominations and appointments of his health team, a slate of experts and public officials who will lead his administration's response to the coronavirus pandemic.

"This trusted and accomplished team of leaders will bring the highest level of integrity, scientific rigor and crisis-management experience to one of the toughest challenges America has ever faced -- getting the pandemic under control so that the American people can get back to work, back to their lives and back to their loved ones," Biden said in a statement. "This team of world-class medical experts and public servants will be ready on day one to mobilize every resource of the federal government to expand testing and masking, oversee the safe, equitable and free distribution of treatments and vaccines, reopen schools and businesses safely, lower prescription drug and other health costs and expand affordable health care to all Americans, and rally the country and restore the belief that there is nothing beyond America's capacity if we do it together."

California Attorney General Xavier Beccera is nominated to serve as the Secretary of Health and Human Services.

Dr. Vivek Muthy, a physician and research scientist, is nominated to be the Surgeon General, a role he served during the Obama administration.

Dr. Rochelle Walensky, an expert on virus testing, prevention and treatment, is nominated to serve as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith, an expert on health care disparities, will serve as the COVID-19 Equity Task Force Chair.

As Biden said last week, Dr. Anthony Fauci will stay on in his current role as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Fauci will also serve as Biden's chief medical adviser on COVID-19.

Jeff Zients, co-chair of Biden's transition team who led the Obama administration's National Economic Council, will serve as coordinator of the COVID-19 Response as well as counselor to the president.

Natalie Quillian, a national security expert, will serve as deputy coordinator of the COVID-19 response.

ABC News' John Verhovek contributed to this report.