As the coronavirus rages across the U.S., the country has so far blunted the impact of influenza and other seasonal respiratory viruses.

U.S. laboratories are finding significantly fewer flu cases among tested patients so far this year, compared with previous flu seasons, thanks to efforts to stamp out Covid-19.

“We are seeing very low levels of influenza so far,” said Daniel Jernigan, director of the influenza division at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Between mask-wearing, social-distancing, and measures such as bar closures, “all of those things are impacting influenza,” he said.

Clinical laboratories tested 22,474 patient samples, mostly nasal swabs, for influenza during the week ended Dec. 5, and only 40, or 0.2%, came back positive, according to data from the CDC. During the same period last year, more than 11% of over 41,000 samples were positive.

The number of positive flu samples at U.S. public health labs is also lower than in years past, according to the CDC data. These labs are currently processing more patient samples than in previous years because of the explosion of testing for Covid-19.

A less severe flu season is a welcome development during an out-of-control pandemic, say health authorities, who earlier in the year feared that a potentially dangerous collision between the coronavirus and the seasonal flu would overrun doctors’ offices and emergency rooms. Doctors and public health officials urged Americans to get flu shots, and laboratories moved to prepare to distinguish whether feverish, coughing patients have influenza or Covid-19.

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The European Union intends to start vaccinating citizens against Covid-19 as soon as Dec. 27, days after its planned decision on whether to authorize Pfizer and BioNTech’s shot.

The bloc has been criticized over the pace of its regulatory review of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which is already being administered in the U.S., U.K., Canada and Saudi Arabia, despite being developed in Germany, an EU member.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen tweeted Thursday that a vaccine rollout would begin in the 27-country bloc on Dec. 27, 28 and 29. A spokesman for Mrs. von der Leyen later noted that the rollout date was conditional on approval from the EU’s top drugs regulator, the European Medicines Agency.

Earlier this week, the EMA said it would advance its review of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine after coming under pressure from some governments, setting a new date of Dec. 21 to decide on whether to authorize it.

EMA officials have said they are moving as fast as they can without eroding trust in vaccines. Some health officials and medical institutions have warned that hasty authorization of a shot that uses novel technology would be a difficult sell on a continent where overall vaccination rates have declined.

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WASHINGTON—Lawmakers are weighing another stopgap spending measure to give themselves more time to wrap up negotiations on a coronavirus relief bill, as they raced Thursday to complete the details of the roughly $900 billion package.

With a government funding deadline approaching, top Republicans and Democrats are closing in on a relief package that would send another direct check to many Americans, enhance unemployment benefits, provide aid to small businesses and fund the distribution of the Covid-19 vaccine, among other measures.

Because they are planning to approve a relief bill alongside a broad government spending package, lawmakers had hoped to finish the relief bill before current government funding expires at 12:01 a.m. Saturday. But as that deadline neared, negotiators said they may pass a short-term spending patch to tide the government over until the relief package is finalized.

“I continue to appreciate our productive discussions, but I hope we remember just how urgent this situation is for millions and millions of our fellow citizens,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) said Thursday. “We’re going to stay right here until we’re finished, even if that means working through the weekend, which is highly likely.”

As Covid-19 cases continue to increase across the country, nearly 900,000 people applied for jobless benefits last week, in another sign that the economic recovery is slowing down. Forms of unemployment assistance and other relief measures will expire in the coming weeks without Congressional action.

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Saudi Arabia began inoculating its citizens and residents against the coronavirus on Thursday, rolling out the vaccine produced by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE after receiving two initial shipments.

Health Minister Tawfiq al-Rabiah rolled up the sleeve of his traditional white robe to receive a shot on live television as part of a government effort to encourage people to get vaccinated.

"During the past nine months I was anxiously tracking the number of cases," Mr. Rabiah told reporters at the vaccination center. "Today I will begin happily tracking the number of vaccinations."

The novel coronavirus has sickened more than 360,000 people in Saudi Arabia, though most of them have recovered. Over 6,000 people have died from the infection, according to government reporting.

More than 150,000 people have already registered via a phone app to get the shot, which Saudi Arabia is offering for free to everyone over age 16, even those who have recovered from the illness.

Ateeq al-Harbi, the first Saudi woman to get vaccinated, said anticipation meant she didn't sleep well the previous night. "God bless our government," she said.

First in line are people over 65 years old, professionals whose jobs put them at high risk of infection and those with pre-existing conditions including obesity and immunodeficiency. In a second stage, remaining health practitioners, people over 50 years old, and those suffering from asthma, diabetes, cancer or kidney or heart disease will receive priority.

Vaccinations could help enable travel for Saudi citizens, who have been restricted from going abroad during the pandemic, even as the government reopened the economy. Riyadh expects gross domestic product to shrink by 3.7% this year due to the virus and low oil prices.

The U.S. logged its latest record-high number of newly reported Covid-19 cases in a day, while also setting new daily records for reported deaths and for hospitalizations.

The nation reported more than 247,000 new cases on Wednesday, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University, up from 198,357 a day earlier and surpassing the previous record of 233,133 reported for Friday.

The data include a surge of cases in California, which on Tuesday reported a record 41,081 infections in addition to a backlog of around 12,500 cases. Johns Hopkins showed 63,817 cases for Wednesday in California, up from 33,249 Tuesday. Subtracting the backlog, the overall number of infections reported for Wednesday in the U.S., according to Johns Hopkins, would be more than 234,000.

The U.S. also reported 3,656 deaths for Wednesday, according to Johns Hopkins data, surpassing a record 3,306 reported Friday. It reported 3,019 deaths for Tuesday. Overall, more than 307,500 people have died of the disease in the U.S., according to Johns Hopkins data.

Hospitalizations were also at a record high, for the 11th day in a row, according to the Covid Tracking Project, which reported 113,090 people in hospitals across the country. That included another record of 21,936 in intensive care.

Meanwhile, the nation continued its vaccine rollout, with Pfizer planning to complete its first round of shipments Wednesday. A winter storm on the East Coast threatened to pose a challenge for distribution, but governors in affected states said they intended to keep deliveries rolling anyway.

Nearly 17 million people in the U.S. have been infected with Covid-19, according to Johns Hopkins data. World-wide, more than 74.28 million have been infected and nearly 1.65 million have died.