Here's what's happening Thursday with the coronavirus pandemic in the U.S.:
THREE THINGS TO KNOW TODAY
— A Food and Drug Administration panel is meeting to decide whether to endorse the Pfizer vaccine. What normally would be a dull scientific event has attracted a massive following as the world anxiously awaits word on a vaccine.
— The U.S. recorded more than 3,000 new COVID-19 deaths Wednesday as hospitals sink deeper into crisis. That exceeds the number of Americans who died on Sept. 11 and D-Day.
— With the virus surging and new restrictions taking effect nationwide, more Americans are applying for unemployment. The 853,000 people who sought jobless benefits last week was the most since September.
THE NUMBERS: More than 1 million people have tested positive for the virus in the last five days. The U.S. is averaging 2,279 deaths per day.
QUOTABLE: "No one asked for this pandemic. I am trying to play the cards I am dealt with, and I have a really bad hand.” - Montrell McGraw, an out-of-work restaurant employee in New Orleans.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: As the virus tears through the country, plenty of people are still commuting to work, on trains, buses and cars. The commute has become an anxiety-ridden ordeal for many of them.
ON THE HORIZON: The FDA has to sign off on the recommendation from the panel discussing the Pfizer drug.
