Here's what's happening Thursday with the coronavirus pandemic in the U.S.:

THREE THINGS TO KNOW TODAY

— A Food and Drug Administration panel to decide whether to endorse the Pfizer vaccine. What normally would be a dull scientific event has attracted a massive following as the world anxiously awaits word on a vaccine.

— The U.S. recorded more than Wednesday as hospitals sink deeper into crisis. That exceeds the number of Americans who died on Sept. 11 and D-Day.

— With the virus surging and new restrictions taking effect nationwide, more Americans are applying for unemployment. The last week was the most since September.

THE NUMBERS: More than 1 million people have tested positive for the virus in the last five days. The U.S. is averaging 2,279 deaths per day.

QUOTABLE: "No one asked for this pandemic. I am trying to play the cards I am dealt with, and I have a really bad hand.” - Montrell McGraw, an out-of-work restaurant employee in New Orleans.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: As the virus tears through the country, plenty of people are still commuting to work, on trains, buses and cars. The commute has become for many of them.

ON THE HORIZON: The FDA has to sign off on the recommendation from the panel discussing the Pfizer drug.

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