US: Daily coronavirus deaths top 3,000 for first time

ANKARA

In another record-high daily death toll from COVID-19, the US for the first time has seen the number of fatalities top 3,000.

According to a running tally by Johns Hopkins University, a total of 3,124 fatalities and more than 221,000 cases were recorded on Wednesday.

The grim milestone came ahead of a Thursday meeting where experts will discuss the efficacy of the coronavirus vaccine made by US drugmaker Pfizer and German biotech firm BioNTech for emergency use authorization.

On Tuesday, the US Food and Drug Administration said in a report that there are "no specific safety concerns identified that would preclude” emergency use of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.

The analysis also confirmed the vaccine effectiveness of 95%, adding that serious adverse events are "uncommon."

The US continues to be the worst-hit country by the virus, with nearly 15.4 million cases and about 290,000 deaths to date, while nearly 5.9 million people have recovered from the disease.