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.
Latest headlines:
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.
New York governor calls on feds for more vaccines
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is urging the federal government to send more COVID-19 vaccines to the state as the variant that originated in the U.K. continues to spread.
Nearly 14,000 positive tests were reported Sunday, with 18 known cases of the variant and an infection rate of 5.6%, Cuomo announced.
While 7 million New York residents are currently eligible to receive the vaccine, the federal government sent less vaccines than what was expected, he added.
"We have the weapon that will win this war and we can see the light at the end of the tunnel, but how fast we get there depends upon two things-our own individual actions and the federal supply, which is where we are facing the greatest challenge," Cuomo said in a statement.
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, incoming CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said on CBS’ "Face the Nation" Sunday morning.
She added, "That doesn't speak to the tens of thousands of people who are living with a yet uncharacterized syndrome after they've recovered."
Walensky, who was appointed by the Biden administration, believes that 100 million more doses of the vaccine will be available within the next 100 days.
"That is what the president-elect has promised," she said. “It will be a hefty lift, but we have it in us to do that.”
ABC News’ Brian Hartman contributed to this report.
People turned away from Houston Astros’ stadium after vaccines run out
People seeking COVID-19 vaccines in Houston were sent away from Minute Maid Park after appointments were overbooked.
The Houston Health Department announced Saturday that it had run out of vaccines by 6 p.m. after it had administered 5,451 doses at the site, where the line wrapped around the building, ABC Houston station KTRK reported. Several people left without getting vaccinated.
Houston Health Department Stephen Williams said during a press conference Saturday he warned the mayor that there wouldn’t be enough doses to last the week.
The city received “a little” over 30,000 doses, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said in a statement.
-ABC News’ Ahmad Hemingway contributed to this report.
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.