The Johns Hopkins COVID Dashboard for Friday, December 18, at 5:28 a.m.:

Worldwide cases:   75,155,123       Worldwide deaths: 1,665,974

U.S. cases: 17,233,022   U.S. deaths: 311,010

According to the Dashboard, the reported worldwide case report increased by 687,568  in the last 24 hours.  Deaths worldwide increased by 13,068.

According to the Johns Hopkins Dashboard, the United States has added 221,490  cases in the last 24 hours.

In the last day, the number of people who have died in the U.S. from  COVID-19 increased by 2,912.

Hospitalizations of people with severe cases of COVID-19 around the country have been growing at a steady rate.  The COVID Tracking Project reports that 113,069 people were hospitalized nationwide with COVID-19 as of yesterday.  Hospitalization rates on the mainland have been increasing at an alarming rate, with some hospitals getting close to being overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients.    Health officials say that as hospitalization rates go up, deaths will continue to also increase.

The FDA is likely to approve the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine under an Emergency Use Authorization today or soon, making it the second COVID-19 vaccine available in the U.S.  Hawaii is already using the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, and health officials have said the state will receive up to 36,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine by the end of December.