Coronavirus Watch: More than 100,000 people are hospitalized with COVID-19
The U.S. reported 3,000 deaths from COVID-19 for the first time Wednesday as the number of hospitalized patients passed the 100,000 mark.
How did we get here? Take a look at how the pandemic progressed across the nation with these interactive graphics.
It's Thursday, and this is the Coronavirus Watch from the Paste BN Network. Here's the most significant news of the day, as of 1 p.m. ET:
- Vice President Mike Pence was bound for Memphis, Tennessee, on Thursday to hold a roundtable discussion on distributing a COVID-19 vaccine. He will be meeting with executives of FedEx, which will be among key transportation players in distributing a COVID-19 vaccine once approved.
- Former presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton have said they are willing to take a coronavirus vaccine to prove that the treatment is safe and effective. They may even film themselves getting injected.
- Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey on Wednesday unveiled a series of new mitigation measures designed to curb spiking caseloads and hospitalizations.
- In the NBA, 48 of 546 players tested positive for COVID-19 in the first batch of testing for players who returned to their home market the week of Nov. 24-30, the league and the National Basketball Players Association said.
- The World Health Organization's latest update on safety guidelines urges extensive use of masks, frequent handwashing and physical distancing of at least 3 feet. Six feet has been the standard provided by the CDC.
- "Placing the passengers of the flight in danger of death": A Hawaiian couple that boarded a flight from San Francisco to Lihue, Hawaii, after knowingly testing positive for COVID-19 have been arrested.
Today's numbers: The U.S. has reported more than 13.9 million cases and 274,000 deaths. Globally, there have been 64.8 million cases and 1.5 million fatalities. See the numbers in your area here, and check out where cases are rising here.
What do you want to know about the vaccine? We're taking your vaccine questions through this online form, and we'll answer them here. You asked: Can you get one dose from one vaccine and another from a different vaccine?
Most of the vaccines at this stage require two doses to become maximally effective. The Pfizer/BioNTech shots are given 21 days apart, Moderna's are given 28 days apart, and AstraZeneca/Oxford's about a month apart.
Since the vaccines differ in composition, storage and time between the two doses, people must take the same vaccine for both doses, experts say. It's possible that future research will show that getting a similar type of vaccine – one within the same "class" – would be effective, but "there are zero studies looking at vaccine interchangeability at this point," said Dr. Greg Poland, director of the Mayo Clinic's Vaccine Research Group.
– Grace Hauck, Paste BN breaking news reporter, @grace_hauck