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.


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New York City ending indoor dining

Indoor dining will end Monday in New York City to help stem the spread of COVID-19, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced.

Outdoor dining and takeout will continue.

Indoor dining accounted for 1.43% of recent spread, said Cuomo, adding that a 74% spike in infections is linked to indoor gatherings at private homes.

Indoor dining capacity could be reduced elsewhere in New York depending on the numbers, the governor said.

Before the governor's announcement, Mayor Bill de Blasio said he felt "tremendous empathy for restaurant owners."

“I feel for them," the mayor added, "but sometimes it’s smart to say, 'Look, if you take an action now, you can stop much worse things from happening later.'"

ABC News’ Aaron Katersky contributed to this report.


Snow leopard at Louisville Zoo has virus

A snow leopard at the Louisville Zoo in Kentucky has SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, said the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Veterinary Services Laboratories.

Testing is ongoing for two other snow leopards.

“Samples from three snow leopards were taken after they showed signs of respiratory illness,” the Department of Agriculture said. “It is suspected that they acquired the infection from an asymptomatic staff member, despite precautions taken by the zoo.”

All three animals are expected to fully recover.

This is the first snow leopard in the U.S. to test positive for SARS-CoV-2, though there have been confirmed cases in other big cats in zoos and conservations centers.

ABC News’ Stephanie Ebbs contributed to this report.


HHS secretary says Pfizer vaccine will be approved, vaccinations could start next week

HHS Secretary Alex Azar told "Good Morning America" that vaccinations could come Monday or Tuesday.

He said the Pfizer vaccine will be approved, they are just working out the details and finalizing the fact sheet on allergy warnings.

"We weren't counting on it in terms of getting to the projections that you and I have talked about about having enough vaccine for the second quarter," he said. "The Sanofi vaccine could be an important additional technology for later rounds of vaccination as one goes forward later in 2021."

Azar also said the Food and Drug Administration will proceed with the emergency use authorization for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

He said 20 million Americans will be vaccinated this month, up to 50 million total in January and the U.S. believes "we could have 100 million vaccinations in arm by the end of February."


Mayor: In LA, 'someone is dying of COVID-19 every 20 minutes'

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti shared "astounding" COVID-19 figures in a press briefing Thursday.

"In Los Angeles, someone is dying of COVID-19 every 20 minutes," the mayor said, as he reported that there were 74 new deaths from the virus in the county.

Los Angeles County reported a record 12,819 new COVID-19 cases, surpassing Sunday's record of 10,528. Cases have increased 1,000% in the past month-and-a-half, the mayor said.

Intensive care unit bed capacity has also dropped to 7.7%, he said.

"Today's COVID-19 data from LA County is the most devastating since the start of this pandemic," Garcetti said.

The mayor said there is a "light at the end of the tunnel." LA County could begin distributing vaccines early next week if one is authorized soon, he said.

The county could receive up to 83,000 doses in the next couple of days, and as many as 500,000 doses by the end of December, he said.

"I urge all Angelinos to get vaccinated as soon as they qualify," Garcetti said. "The end of this pandemic is finally, finally in sight."

-ABC News' Michelle Mendez 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.