A coronavirus surge is overwhelming hospitals, leading doctors to tell families to care for sick loved ones at home instead. Health workers fear New Year's parties could have led to further spikes.

The newly detected strain — dubbed B.1.1.7 — appears to be more contagious. What precautions might be effective in trying to keep from getting infected?

Some rural areas, where health care is usually harder to get, appear to be leading the nation in delivery of the COVID-19 vaccine. But health leaders are cautioning there are caveats.

Georgia’s health workers are doing incredible work getting the COVID-19 vaccine into people’s arms, but they have to pick up the pace. 

That was the message from Gov. Brian Kemp during a Friday press conference about the vaccine rollout. 

"The stark reality is that we will run out of beds for patients in the next couple of weeks unless the spread of the virus slows down drastically," London Mayor Sadiq Khan said Friday.

With COVID-19 vaccinations opening to people 65 and older, a high volume of calls overwhelmed the Coastal Health District phone lines Thursday.

In an NPR interview, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country's top infectious disease expert, said changes in vaccine distribution could be necessary depending on what happens in the next few weeks.

Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga announces new voluntary restrictions amid alarm at rapidly increasing coronavirus case numbers.

While logistical challenges have hampered use of antibody drugs to treat people with mild-to-moderate COVID-19, recent results show the medicines can be worthwhile.

"Now we are working at full speed to approve it & make it available in the EU," said EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. It is be the second vaccine to get EU authorization.

The crisis starts around 2 a.m. at a hospital in Mendocino County, Calif. A compressor gives out, giving the staff two hours to use the coronavirus vaccines before they are declared unusable.

Health experts are hopeful that vaccines will stop the coronavirus outbreak in the U.S. But what will it take to make the 12 to 15 billion doses to cover the entire globe?

While daily new infections have declined somewhat, more than 1,000 Germans are dying per day. All 16 German states are in favor of keeping restrictions in place.

Whitmore died from complications from COVID-19, according to his wife. The storied climber helped make history as part of the team who first climbed Yosemite's El Capitan.

The government had previously said data collected by its widely used app would only be used for contact tracing. The program is seen as a key part of the country's success in managing the coronavirus.