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.


0

Country music legend Charley Pride dies from virus

Country music legend Charley Pride died of COVID-19 complications on Saturday.

Last month, the 86-year-old performed at the CMA Awards, where he accepted the Lifetime Achievement Award.

Pride was the first Black member of the Country Music Hall of Fame.

“Between 1967 and 1987, Pride delivered 52 Top 10 country hits, won Grammy awards, and became RCA Records’ top-selling country artist,” said the statement announcing his death. “His musicality opened minds and superseded prejudice.“


California breaks records for daily cases, daily deaths, total hospitalizations

California broke new records on Saturday for daily cases (over 35,700), daily deaths (225) and total hospitalizations (13,410).

Gov. Gavin Newsom has issued stay-at-home orders to regions if their intensive care unit capacity falls below 15%. The San Joaquin Valley, Southern California and the Greater Sacramento region all have fallen below that threshold, while the Bay Area and Northern California have not.

ICU capacity in the San Joaquin Valley fell to 0% on Saturday and was at 5.3% in Southern California.

ABC News’ Matt Fuhrman contributed to this report.


1st vaccines to arrive at 145 sites on Monday

Pfizer said it expects to have the vaccines rolling out of its Kalamazoo, Michigan, facility on Sunday morning.


The first shipments are expected to arrive at 145 sites on Monday, 425 sites on Tuesday and another 66 sites on Wednesday, Gen. Gus Perna of the Trump administration's Operation Warp Speed vaccine program said.

At those sites, the vaccines will be paired with ancillary kits to assist with the vaccinations. The kits contain needles, syringes, alcohol swabs, diluent, safety gear and vaccine reminder cards.

ABC News' Luis Martinez contributed to this report.


FDA ‘very comfortable’ with vaccine safety profile for 16, 17 year olds

Common questions surrounding the newly authorized Pfizer vaccine include safety for teenagers and the risk of allergic reactions.

Though the final data doesn’t have conclusive data on 16 and 17 year olds because they weren’t enrolled in trials until more recently, the FDA is “very comfortable with the safety profile that was observed in 17 and 16 year olds," Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, told reporters.

Regarding allergies, Marks said 1.6% of the population has had a severe allergic reaction.

Marks said you should notify your doctor if you’ve ever had an allergic reaction to a vaccine and noted that sites that administer the vaccine will have medications on hand to respond to an allergic reaction.

ABC News’ Anne Flaherty contributed to this report.


'My colleagues are dog-tired,' US surgeon general says in plea to Americans

U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams urged people to take the coronavirus pandemic seriously and follow public health guidelines as infections and hospitalizations soar across the country.

"I want the American people to know this virus is incredibly unforgiving, cases are going up, hospitalizations are going up, my colleagues are dog-tired and we need you to hang on just a little bit longer because we've got vaccines coming but we want as many people to be alive to get them as possible and a lot of that is going to depend on your behavior," Adams told ABC News chief anchor George Stephanopoulos in an interview Monday on "Good Morning America."

Although "more people than ever are wearing masks," Adams said he's "very" concerned by the number of people who still "don't understand how much spread is occurring by people who don't have symptoms."

About 20 million "full doses" of COVID-19 vaccines will be available by the end of the year, according to Adams, who urged every American to be immunized against the virus as soon as a vaccine is authorized and made available.

"It's a way that we can ultimately end this pandemic, but it doesn't matter if people won't get the vaccination," the surgeon general said. "We know that vaccine levels are only about 50% for adults for flu and they go down to about 40% for African-Americans."

Adams said he is working with historically black colleges and universities as well as faith communities to bolster vaccine confidence among all populations. The White House is also hosting a vaccine summit Tuesday, he said.

"One thing you can all do right now, it's national flu immunization week, get your flu shot because half a million people were hospitalized last year with the flu," Adams said. "We simply can't afford for that to happen this year with hospitals being overwhelmed."

The surgeon general said the current surge in infections across the country "is different than earlier surges," because it's not about a lack of masks or personal protective equipment, nor is it due to a lack of testing.

"It's really about health care capacity, and certain places are just being overwhelmed," he said. "So we know that we can actually help them with their health care capacity by immunizing their health care staff. We're going to leave it up to the states, but we're going to give them guidance."

Adams noted it's also important to vaccinate those who are most likely to die from COVID-19.

"We know that 40 to 50% of the deaths are occurring in people who are in longterm care facilities who are older," he said.