Registered nurse Shelly Girardin, left, is illuminated by the glow of a computer monitor as Dr. Shane Wilson examines COVID-19 patient Neva Azinger inside Scotland County Hospital on Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2020, in Memphis, Mo. The coronavirus pandemic largely hit urban areas first, but the autumn surge is now ravaging rural America, stressing the staffs of tiny hospitals like the one in Scotland County. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
Here’s what’s happening Tuesday with the coronavirus pandemic in the U.S.:
THREE THINGS TO KNOW TODAY
— A scientific panel is meeting to provide guidance on who should be at the front of the line when the first vaccine shots become available. Health care workers and nursing home residents will be among the first to get the vaccine.
— More than 36,000 people died from COVID-19 in November in the United States. The monthly number is not as high as the dark days of April and May but still a sign of the deadly turn the pandemic has taken this fall.
— Field hospitals are opening up again as hospital capacity runs out. Rhode Island and New York are among the places to open such facilities in recent days.
THE NUMBERS: The U.S. averaged 1,200 deaths per day in November. The country is averaging 160,000 new confirmed cases per day. More than 96,000 people were hospitalized as of Monday.
QUOTABLE: “It would be stupidity on steroids if Congress left for Christmas without doing an interim (virus relief) package before the new administration takes over in January. — Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va.
ICYMI: Small-town hospitals are feeling the crunch as beds fill up with virus patients. In a rural Missouri town, the doctor knows most of his patients by name, making the pain of the pandemic worse.
ON THE HORIZON: Will Congress be able to work out a deal and send additional relief money to struggling Americans and businesses before the holidays? A bipartisan group of moderate lawmakers is hoping to pull off a $900 billion package and break an impasse.
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