Coronavirus updates: US will soon have 'half a million' deaths, incoming CDC chief says
The U.S. is forecast to have almost 500,000 COVID-19 deaths by mid-February.
A pandemic of the novel coronavirus has now infected more than 94.2 million people worldwide and killed over 2 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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Prince William touts vaccine, urges UK to follow grandparents' lead
Prince William championed the effort of the NHS, the U.K.'s health agency, in delivering the COVID-19 vaccine in a video posted to Kensington Royal's Twitter account Saturday night.
The video included several health care professionals on a Zoom call, along with the Duke of Cambridge, talking about distributing and delivering the vaccine.
"This is because we have a world-leading NHS, this is because we have the right people, the right research and development here," William says in the video.
William also encourages people to get the vaccine when they are eligible, noting his "grandparents" -- Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip -- got the vaccine already. The palace said last week that Elizabeth, 94, and Philip, 99, had gotten the vaccine.
"My grandparents have had the vaccine and I'm very proud of them for doing that," he says in the video. "So it's really important that everyone gets their vaccine."
LA County crosses 1 million cases, identifies 1st UK variant
Los Angeles County, the hardest hit region in the country right now, announced it has crossed 1 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Saturday.
The county has identified 1,003,923 cases since the start of the pandemic -- the first county in the country to cross the mark. Only four states outside of California have met that ignominious total. The county announced 253 new deaths and 14,669 new cases on Saturday.
There are currently 7,597 people hospitalized in LA County with COVID-19 -- down slightly from days earlier when the total crossed 7,900.
Also of concern, the county identified its first case of the so-called U.K. variant on Saturday. The case was discovered in a man who was recently in LA, but has since traveled to Oregon, where he is isolating, the health department said.
"The presence of the U.K. variant in Los Angeles County is troubling, as our healthcare system is already severely strained with more than 7,500 people currently hospitalized," said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, director of public health. "This more contagious variant makes it easier for infections to spread at worksites, at stores, and in our homes."
There had already been 40 cases of the variant, officially called the B.1.1.7 variant, detected in California.
FDA comments on reports of deaths in Norway following COVID-19 vaccination
The Norwegian Medicines Agency on Thursday reported a total of 29 people had suffered side effects, 13 of them fatal, according to The Associated Press. All the deaths occurred among patients in nursing homes and all were over the age of 80.
A spokesperson from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration told ABC News on Saturday regarding the deaths in Norway: "To date, we have not seen any new safety signals In the U.S. following administration of either authorized COVID-19 vaccine, and therefore do not currently plan to make any changes."
In the U.S. any reports of death following vaccination are "promptly and rigorously investigated" by the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the spokesperson said.
Texas reports 3rd case of UK variant
Texas' third case of the COVID-19 variant, B.1.1.7, the same variant discovered in the United Kingdom, has been found in Dallas, Dallas County Health and Human Services reported in a statement Saturday morning.
"The individual is a male resident of the City of Dallas in his 20’s, with no recent history of travel outside of the United States. Results of genetic sequencing this week showed that the infection was caused by the variant. This is the first known case of this variant in a Dallas County resident. The individual is stable and is in isolation. DCHHS epidemiologists are involved with the investigation in identifying and notifying close contacts," the statement read.
- ABC News' James Scholz
California nearing 3 million positive cases
The state of California is poised to surpass 3 million positive COVID-19 cases within two days, according to data from the California Department of Public Health.
On Sunday, the state health department reported 42,229 new cases and 432 new deaths.
Los Angeles County, the hardest hit in the state, surpassed 1 million cases on Saturday. Dodger Stadium, the largest vaccination site in the country, reopened on Friday, but officials told ABC News they only have enough doses to last until Wednesday.
ABC News’ Matthew Fuhrman and Zohreen Shah contributed to this report.