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.
Latest headlines:
US cases up 45% in the last month
The U.S. is now reporting nearly 118,000 new cases each day -- up by 45% in the last month, according to federal data.
Daily COVID-19-related hospital admissions have leapt by 46% in the last month.
Maine and New Hampshire are now averaging more new cases than at any other point in the pandemic, according to federal data.
New Hampshire currently holds the nation's highest case rate, followed by Rhode Island, Maine, Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota.
-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos
South Africa sees new record case high
South Africa, one of the first countries to detect omicron, reported a record high of 26,976 new cases on Wednesday.
Just 26.09% of South Africa's residents are fully vaccinated, according to Africa CDC.
-ABC News' Christine Theodorou
George Washington University cancels events, moves exams online
George Washington University is joining Princeton, Cornell and NYU by canceling all events and moving exams online.
George Washington officials said there's "a significant increase" in cases, and while people are not severely sick, "it is critical that we act to limit the further spread."
-ABC News' Michelle Stoddart
Fenway Park to reopen as booster site
Boston's historic baseball stadium Fenway Park, which transformed into a mass vaccination site last winter, is expected to reopen its doors as a booster shot location in January, Red Sox officials told ABC News.
The Red Sox are working with the city and the governor's office to finalize the plans, Red Sox spokeswoman Zineb Curran said.
-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos
Pfizer says 'game changer' pills could save thousands of lives
Pfizer's forthcoming COVID-19 treatment could be authorized for emergency use in the United States by the end of this year or early next year, pending the Food and Drug Administration's regulatory timeline, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla told ABC News.
The pharmaceutical giant announced Tuesday that it has submitted promising new data to the FDA, including lab experiments showing its oral antiviral medicine, Paxlovid, will likely work against the omicron variant. And in updated clinical trial data, Pfizer found the treatment reduces the risk of being hospitalized or dying by 89% when taken within three days of being diagnosed with COVID-19, and 88% when taken within five days of being diagnosed among high-risk, unvaccinated patients.
"It is a game changer," Bourla told ABC News. "But at the same time, I want to emphasize that no one should use the existence of the pill as an excuse to avoid vaccination."
Bourla said the medicine could save thousands of lives.
"We did some calculations how many deaths or hospitalizations can be avoided based on the current U.S. mortality rates and the current U.S. hospitalization rates," he said. "On the back-of-the-envelope calculation, we estimate that 100,000 people if they take the pill, we will avoid 6,000 hospitalizations and 1,200 deaths approximately."
-ABC News' Sony Salzman