December 14 coronavirus news

As some Americans are getting the first doses of a coronavirus vaccine today, Dr. Anthony Fauci said the public won't be able to "throw the masks away" until the late fall or early winter of 2021.

"I don't believe we're going to be able to throw the masks away and forget about physical separation in congregate settings for a while, probably likely until we get into the late fall and early next winter, but I think we can do it," he added.

Fauci also said that this is "the worst public health catastrophe in 102 years, since the 1918 flu pandemic," and he said he hopes that Americans learn from all their actions and inactions during 2020 to not repeat the same mistakes in the future.

"It's eerie that there were things that went on back in 1918 that are so strikingly similar then that we see now, including the denial some states and cities that there really was a problem; the reluctance to wear masks on some parts of the country; the reluctance to shut down things — some cities shutdown, some didn't — and it was clear that those that shut down did better both from a health standpoint and an economic standpoint,” he said.

“That was 102 years ago, and it's sort of almost repeating itself now in 2020, so I hope we don't have that kind of forgetfulness after this," Fauci added. 

Two public health locations in coastal Georgia received the state’s first shipments of Covid-19 vaccine today, the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) announced.

The shipments contain 5,850 doses of vaccine and the Coastal Health District will start vaccinating front line public health staff this afternoon, DPH said.  

According to DPH, additional shipments of vaccine are expected at facilities in other parts of the state, including metro Atlanta, later this week.

DPH is following CDC recommendations by prioritizing health care personnel and residents of long-term care facilities for vaccination.

In Georgia, the vaccine is being given through closed points of dispensing or “PODs,” which include sites like public health clinics, hospitals, long-term care facilities, and pharmacies, and are only accessible to individuals in the current defined priority groups, DPH said.

New York State could face a second shutdown if the current trajectory of Covid-19 metrics does not change, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said at a news conference Monday.

Cuomo said that the current trajectory shows that by January, there could be 11,000 patients in hospitals due to Covid-19 and an additional 3,500 dead.

Cuomo identified Erie, Monroe, Central New York, and particularly New York City as areas of concerns.

“New York City is different, there is more density,” Cuomo said. “We know how fast it takes off in New York City.”

Addressing the concerns of business owners who are unhappy with current capacity rates, Cuomo said that people should be more worried about a shutdown if the current trajectory doesn’t change.

“We go back to where we were, all nonessential business closed, they go to zero.” Cuomo said. “Yes we are trying to change the trajectory, you should be happy, if we don’t change the trajectory then we are going to close.”

In order to avoid another shutdown, Cuomo said that two things need to be done:

“It’s difficult to stop during the holiday season,” Cuomo said. “I think of it as a footrace between holiday spread and hospital capacity and vaccination critical mass. The problem is experts say vaccination for the critical mass isn’t for six to nine months.” 

Cuomo said New York state today conducted what he believes was the first vaccine administered in the United States.

“We are in the process of administering 10,000 vaccinations today," Cuomo said. 

The University of Michigan Hospital is preparing to inject its first round of Covid-19 vaccines.

The doses come frozen because the vaccine requires a storage temperature of -70 degrees Celsius. Once taken out of storage, they need to warm up before it can be mixed in with a bit of saline and then administered.

Watch a health care worker sanitize and prep the shot:

Four hospitals in Texas have received the first shipments of the Covid-19 vaccine, according to the state's Department of State Health Services. 

According to a news release, 19,500 doses were delivered Monday morning to hospitals in Dallas, Houston, Austin and San Antonio. An additional 75,075 doses will arrive on Tuesday at 19 hospitals throughout the state. 

Texas should be receiving a total of 224,250 doses during the first week of distribution, which will be shipped to 110 providers, according to the release.

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice says the state received a shipment of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine this morning and as a gesture to let people know he is “all in,” he will receive a dose today at 5:30 p.m. ET.

Justice said the first shipment arrived in Kanawha and Monongalia Counties and will be distributed to long-term care facilities and health care workers first.

The governor also announced he is working to initiate mandatory testing of all 18- to 35-year-old students that are on campuses across the state.

CNN asked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi moments ago if she’s open at all to dropping state and local aid as part of the relief talks, and she said: “I very much support state and local.”

Asked if the aid amounted to a red line in the talks, Pelosi said: “We are in negotiations.”

If Democrats drop state and local aid, their key priority, it could ease a path to a Covid-19 relief deal.

Read more on the state of the negotiations here.

The first shipments of Covid-19 vaccine have arrived in New Mexico, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced today on Twitter.

Dr. Tracie Collins, New Mexico's Health Secretary, also said on Twitter that "more than 17,000 vaccine doses are on their way to hospital workers this week."

Grisham noted that the doses "will begin to be administered to health care workers on the frontlines of the pandemic later today."

At least half of the states across the US have received their first shipment of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine.

According to statements from the state's departments of health, governor’s offices and local hospitals — 25 states, Washington, DC, and Puerto Rico have all received their first shipment of the vaccine.

It is important to note, that not all of these states have started administering the vaccine, but they have received it. 

CNN will continue to update this list as the week goes on and as more shipments are received.

Here's a list of the states that have received a shipment of the vaccine so far:

The District of Columbia also received a shipment of the vaccine.