weeks. we ask everybody that is able to help us, if you have a california license, okay, and actually come down to the state of california, southern california, come join us. reporter: in l.a. county, more than 1,700 health care workers testing positive, double the number last week. some are sick. almost everyone is tired. are your staff exhausted? our staff are pretty tired. there is a level of burnout because not only is this physically demanding, it s emotionally demanding. let s get to matt gutman with us tonight from mission hills, california. matt, we mentioned this number moments ago it s almost hard to wrap your head around in the hospital tonight, more than 107,000 americans battling the virus. you have reported quite a bit in recent days from inside hospitals, witnessing our front line workers firsthand. i know they re crushed by this thanksgiving surge, which makes this warning about christmas all the more important tonight. david, i have been in an icu at over
re at factsonhand.com today. tonight, as we come on the air, all eyes on the fda. a decision could come at any time. set to give emergency use authorization for pfizer s coronavirus vaccine. today, the pressure from president trump. the white house suggesting the fda chief s job is on the line if the vaccine is not authorized by the end of the day today. tonight, how will this work across the u.s.? the rollout ready to begin. who will get it first and when? the trucks and planes set to help distribute doses within hours of the final green light. it all comes as america marks its most devastating and deadliest week yet. authorities say we could hit 300,000 american lives lost within days, pointing out the thanksgiving surge is here. the effects from gatherings from the holiday are now being seen in hospitals across the country. new york city banning indoor dining. more than 107,000 americans in the hospital, fighting the virus
vaccine in particular. reporter: yeah, david, the government late today agreeing to purchase another 100 million doses of moderna for delivery in the spring. moderna will face that same review process that pfizer faced beginning next thursday. alex perez leading us off on a friday night. alex, thank you. and we we turn next to the crushing pressure tonight on the nation s hospitals, in the middle of the thanksgiving surge they re seeing now. there are reports at least 200 hospitals are at full capacity. this week, more than 107,000 covid patients are in the hospital fighting this virus. that s a new record. some hospitals treating patients in tents. here s our chief national correspondent matt gutman from california. reporter: even the tender touch of medical staff unable to stave off the deadliest week of this pandemic. hospitals slammed for the thanksgiving surge, nearly a third running out of icu beds. now officials warning no christmas parties, no family
the demonstration spilling into the street. police say the driver might have become frightened and then accelerated. six pedestrians were taken to the hospital. they are expected to be okay. the driver did remain at the scene with police. a georgia youth football coach is facing child abuse charges after striking a player at a game in florida. a criminal investigation following video of the sideline moment. the coach, identified as gerrel williams, seen taking aim at a child on his helmet twice. he was banned from play and fired from his job at a georgia sheriff s office. he apologized on social media. when we come back, the fighter pilot killed in a training crash has now been identified, in just a moment. i am robert strickler. i ve been involved in communications in the media for 45 years. i ve been taking prevagen on a regular basis for at least eight years. for me, the greatest benefit over the years has been that prevagen seems to help me recall things and also think more cle
using its garage as a triage unit. it looks like a military field hospital. i spoke to a doctor who s been pulling 20-hour days for two consecutive weeks. everybody says the same thing they can buy more beds, make more space, they cannot manufacture more medical staff. with these exploding numbers in l.a. county, i m told that some hospitals in this region will reach the breaking point in the next coming weeks. they say they may not be able to admit new patients. david? matt, thank you. we should mention monday night, a special edition of 20/20 examining every step of this process. vaccinations here in the u.s. the shot, the race for the vaccine. it s monday night, 10:00 p.m. eastern, 20/20 right here. in the meantime tonight, we are following breaking news coming in right now from the supreme court the state of texas motion taking legal aim at the vote counts in the presidential election in several key swing states, it s been denied by the supreme court for lack of standin