COVID-19 updates: Elizabeth Warren tests positive

The senator says she's experiencing "mild symptoms."

As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5.3 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 806,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering.

About 61.4% of the population in the United States is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.


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National Guard to help Ohio with strained hospitals

More than 4,700 COVID-19 patients are in Ohio hospitals, the highest number of all of 2021 -- and hospitalization numbers are quickly approaching an all-time high, Gov. Mike DeWine's office said.

DeWine said he's calling up 1,050 National Guard members to help overwhelmed hospitals beginning on Monday.


Vaccine timeline pushed back for kids under 5 

The potential timeline for when children under 5 may have an authorized vaccine is now being pushed back.

Data for a two-shot vaccine was initially expected by the end of the year, but now Pfizer/BioNTech say they hope to have data with a third shot in the first half of 2022.

Pfizer/BioNTech said they "will amend the clinical study evaluating the safety, tolerability, and immunogenicity of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine in children 6 months to under 5 years of age. The study will now include evaluating a third dose of 3 µg at least two months after the second dose of the two-dose series to provide high levels of protection in this young age group."

An early look into the study data suggested that the two doses at a smaller volume was not as effective for kids ages 2 to 5 as it was for the 16 to 25 population, so scientists are going to add a third dose and see if the vaccine is as effective. There were no safety issues reported in the early data analysis.

Pfizer/BioNTech added in a statement, “The decision to evaluate a third dose of 3 µg for children 6 months to under 5 years of age reflects the companies’ commitment to carefully select the right dose to maximize the risk-benefit profile. If the three-dose study is successful, Pfizer and BioNTech expect to submit data to regulators to support an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for children 6 months to under 5 years of age in the first half of 2022.”

-ABC News' Eric M. Strauss


Americans in their 30s have highest case rate

Americans in their 30s are accounting for the highest case rate of any age group, according to federal data.

The U.S. is now reporting nearly 120,000 new cases each day. The daily case average has surged by nearly 86.3% since late October, according to federal data.

Thirty-three states, as well as Washington, D.C., and New York City, have seen at least a 10% jump in daily cases over the last two weeks.

New Hampshire currently holds the nation's highest case rate, followed by Rhode Island, Maine, Wisconsin, Connecticut and Massachusetts, according to federal data.

-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos


White House: Unvaccinated are 'looking at a winter of severe illness and death'

White House COVID-19 response coordinator Jeff Zients warned Friday that the unvaccinated are "looking at a winter of severe illness and death -- for yourselves, your families and the hospitals you may soon overwhelm."

CDC director Rochelle Walensky said she expects omicron to become the dominant variant in the coming weeks.

Asked whether the CDC will change its guidance on vaccinated people quarantining after exposure, which they currently don't have to, Walensky said, "We are actively following the science in that area, with regard to how the viral burden is both among vaccinated people and unvaccinated people, and the natural history of that viral burden with regard to isolation."

"And as that science emerges, we will update our evidence if need be," she said.

-ABC News' Cheyenne Haslett


France to ban non-essential travel with UK over omicron surge

France announced Thursday that it will ban non-essential travel to and from the United Kingdom due to the country's surge in cases of the omicron variant.

Starting Saturday, France will require people to have "a compelling reason" to travel between the two countries. Travel for tourism or work will not be allowed. French citizens, however, can return to France, according to a statement from the French prime minister's office.

All travelers from the U.K. will be required to show proof of a negative COVID-19 test taken less than 24 hours before departure. Upon arrival in France, they must self-isolate for a week, but that period can be ended after 48 hours if they test negative for COVID-19 again.

The new rules apply to people regardless of their vaccination status.

"Faced with the extremely rapid spread of the Omicron variant in the United Kingdom, the Government has chosen to reinstate the need for an essential reason for travel from and to the United Kingdom, and to strengthen the requirement for tests on departure and arrival," the French prime minister's office said in the statement Thursday. "The Government is also calling on travelers who had planned to visit the United Kingdom to postpone their trip."