December 26 coronavirus news

By Nectar Gan, Brett McKeehan, Zamira Rahim, Ed Upright and Melissa Macaya, CNN

Updated 4:15 p.m. ET, December 26, 2020

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11:48 p.m. ET, December 25, 2020

One person is dying from Covid-19 every 10 minutes in Los Angeles County

From CNN's Dakin Andone

In this file photo, Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer takes questions at a news conference in Los Angeles, on March, 12. Damian Dovarganes/AP

Los Angeles County public health officials reported 148 new Covid-19 deaths on Thursday, the second day in a row that the county reported its highest number of new deaths.

"A person now dies every 10 minutes in LA County from Covid-19," county Director of Public Health Barbara Ferrer said in a statement. "And since many of these deaths are preventable, our collective focus should be on doing right to save lives."

According to the Department of Public Health's Thursday news release, there are about 6,500 people hospitalized with Covid-19 in the county, 20% of whom are in intensive care units -- a pandemic high. In the last week alone, the department said, the number of Covid-19 patients in hospitals increased by more than 1,600.

"I hope we can each find the strength and courage to take responsibility for each other's well-being," Ferrer said, urging Southern Californians to follow public health guidelines like staying home and wearing a mask while out in public. "These are the only tools that will work right now."

Read the full story:

One person is dying from Covid-19 every 10 minutes in Los Angeles County

10:49 p.m. ET, December 25, 2020

Health care worker who had reaction to Moderna vaccine has history of allergies

From CNN Health's Andrea Diaz

A Boston health care worker with a history of allergies developed an allergic reaction after receiving a Moderna Covid-19 vaccine on Christmas Eve.

This is the first known case of allergic reaction from a Moderna coronavirus vaccine, though there have been at least six reported cases of allergic reaction in the US associated with the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.

"After I got the vaccine, I felt tachycardic, but I felt like it was probably anxiety because I was scared after learning about Pfizer's reactions in the US, especially with those people who have shellfish allergies, like me," Dr. Hossein Sadrzadeh told to CNN.

Tachycardia is a medical term describing rapid or irregular heartbeat.

After having his vitals checked, Sadrzadeh realized his heart rate had spiked.

"My heart rate was 150, my normal heart rate is 75 but ... six, seven minutes after the injection of the vaccine, I felt in my tongue and also my throat having, like some weird sensation of tingling and numbness, the same reaction that I had before to my shellfish allergy," Sadrzadeh said.

Sadrzadeh said his blood pressure dipped so low it wasn’t even detectable with a monitor. That was when he decided to use his EpiPen, and the staff rushed him to the emergency room.

Sadrzadeh was monitored for four hours before he was able to drive home.

"The main concern for me as a human being and as a physician ... I have to get the word out to people ... People should have the EpiPen with them if they have allergy reactions," said Sadrzadeh, urging Moderna to investigate further.

A spokesperson from Moderna said the biotechnology company couldn't confirm the incident, but it "reported the potential adverse event through its internal safety reporting system and Moderna is further investigating."