December 23 coronavirus news

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis plans to issue an executive order to ensure seniors, over the age of 65, are the first members of the general public to receive the Covid-19 vaccine. The announcement was made Wednesday during a press conference in Pensacola.  

DeSantis said his order will guarantee seniors will be in the front of line to get vaccinated, despite the CDC recommending essential workers have priority as well.

So far, about 70,000 shots have been administered to frontline health care workers and seniors in long-term care facilities in Florida, DeSantis said.

According to DeSantis, Florida has received 367,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine, which have been delivered to over 170 hospitals. County health departments are beginning to receive small amounts of the vaccine as well and will begin administering the shots to seniors as early as Monday, DeSantis said.

People traveling into New York City or returning will be required to sign the Commissioner’s Health order when arriving in the city and if found in violation, they will be charged $1,000 each time, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said. 

The sheriff’s deputy office will visit the home of every single UK traveler coming into New York City to make sure they are adhering to the mandatory travel quarantine, or they will be penalized, de Blasio said. 

“UK travelers will be personally served DOH commissioner’s order to quarantine by the sheriff’s office,” de Blasio said. 

Prior to this order, New York City residents were subjected to $1,000 fines for not wearing face masks and violating social distancing rules. 

People coming to New York City through airplanes and trains will be required to sign the Commissioner’s Health Order, de Blasio said. 

At least 10,000 cars have been stopped by officials already, the mayor said.

New York City is working closely with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, a jointly run transit agency, and state authorities to make sure individuals are following the mandatory quarantine, de Blasio said.

At least 4,624,325 vaccine doses have been distributed in the US and at least 614,117 doses of the vaccine have been administered, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In terms of cases, according to Johns Hopkins University's tally, there have been at least 18,255,974 cases of coronavirus in the country. At least 323,274 people have died in the US from coronavirus. 

So far today, Johns Hopkins has reported 25,732 new cases and 509 reported deaths.

The totals include cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and other US territories, as well as repatriated cases. 

The Trump administration is using its authorities under the Defense Production Act to “prioritize access to the critical materials and supplies necessary to expand vaccine production,” a Health and Human Services Spokesperson tells CNN in a statement. 

The statement says Operation Warp Speed is using “selective application of DPA authorities” to facilitate production of the six vaccines it is supporting, including the Pfizer vaccine.

Today HHS announced it reached a deal with Pfizer to purchase 100 million more doses of the pharmaceutical company’s Covid-19 vaccine.

Pfizer had been seeking help from OWS to secure crucial materials in order to deliver the vaccine on an expedited timeline.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee extended the state of emergency through the end of February.

In the executive order published on Tuesday, Lee wrote that he is declaring "a continuing state of emergency and major disaster in order to facilitate the response to COVID-19".

The order goes into effect on Dec. 29 and runs through Feb. 27, 2021. 

It allows for retired medical professionals to reenter the workforce and out-of-state medical professionals to practice in the state. Additional provisions in the order include allowing graduates of nursing programs after Dec. 1 to practice without taking the nursing exam. 

It also encourages social distancing and "strongly urges" mask wearing, while not requiring either.

The latest numbers: Tennessee has at least 534,019 total Covid-19 positive cases, as of Tuesday's report. At least 2,934 patients are hospitalized statewide due to Covid-19, according to the most recent dashboard.

Note: These numbers were released by the state's public health agency and may not line up exactly in real time with CNN’s database drawn from Johns Hopkins University and the Covid Tracking Project.

AstraZeneca has summited the full data package for the vaccine it has developed with Oxford university to Britain’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock revealed during a news conference on Wednesday. 

“Amid all this difficulty, the great hope for 2021 is of course the vaccine,” he also said.

British Health authorities have detected two cases of yet another new variant of Covid-19, originally identified in South Africa, British Health Secretary Matt Hancock said on Wednesday. 

The Health Secretary announced new restrictions for travelers arriving in the UK from South Africa and also told those who have been in contact with people arriving from South Africa, in the past 15 days, to go into quarantine immediately. 

“These measures are temporary while we investigate further this new strain which is shortly to be analyzed at Porton Down,” he said.

Millions of struggling renters will likely be protected from eviction — at least for another month.

The stimulus bill that was passed by Congress late Monday night would extend a national ban on evictions until Jan. 31. The package would also provide $25 billion in emergency rental assistance. But the relief bill still needs to be signed by President Trump.

But, should the package go through, neither of the measures will likely be enough to keep the most at-risk renters in their homes past January. 

Struggling to stay afloat

Kelly Green, who lives in a $1,429-a-month apartment in Daytona Beach, Florida, has not been able to pay rent since September. 

Green makes her living selling rhinestone- and sequined-biker apparel at motorcycle rallies and other festivals. 

After the shutdown in March, there were no festivals, no events and she had no income. Still, she cobbled together her savings, stimulus payment, rent relief and unemployment insurance payments and managed to get current on her rent through July. But she didn't know how she'd make ends meet after the $600 a week supplemental unemployment support ended. 

Green heard about a coronavirus-related rent relief fund offered by Volusia County, where she lives. She applied for assistance and was awarded $4,500 for three months' rent. 

But there was a snag: The Volusia County rent assistance program requires tenants to have been current on rent as of March 13, 2020. Green was behind on her rent in February and, as a result, her apartment complex wouldn't accept the aid.

Without that money, Green was unable to pay full rent for October, November or December. And since she overstayed her lease in November, she's now on a month-to-month lease that is $500 more expensive a month.

"Even if the moratorium is extended, money is piling up against me," she said. "What would help me the most is if I receive a check for rental assistance for three months, that they take it." 

Read the full story here.

With two Covid-19 vaccines approved for emergency use and politicians, health care workers and residents of long-term care facilities rolling up their sleeves, but when will you be able to get the vaccine?

The answer depends on each person's health, what they do for a living and where they live.

Dr. Vivek Murthy, Biden's nominee for surgeon general, said he believes it may take until late spring to finish vaccinating high-risk populations, if all goes according to plan. That means mid-summer may be a "realistic" timeline for the general public to begin vaccinations, he told NBC.

Here are key things to know:

Who is first in line?

Who is an essential worker?

Who is making decisions at the state level?

Read more here.

Age, pregnancy, allergies: Is the vaccine right for you?