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 As of Thursday, roughly 6 million people across the United States
had received a first injection of the two-shot vaccines, accounting
for less than one-third of more than 21 million doses shipped to
date, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention.
That number falls far short of the 20 million vaccinations the U.S.
government had vowed to administer by the end of 2020 as the
pandemic raged largely unchecked with ever-increasing record numbers
of infections, hospitalizations and deaths.
The contagion and strict public health measures imposed to contain
it have also wreaked havoc on business activity.
A closely watched Labor Department report set for release on Friday
was expected to show that the U.S. economy in December created the
fewest jobs since the outbreak of the pandemic in March and may have
even shed workers. [nL1N2JI2LC]
More than 270,000 new U.S. infections were reported on Thursday and
COVID-19 hospitalizations stood at 132,046 patients, down slightly
from Wednesday's record tally. The respiratory virus killed 4,002
Americans on Thursday alone, just under Wednesday's record 24-hour
toll of 4,008 deaths.
The latest surge has been compounded by the spread of a new, more
infectious coronavirus variant first detected in the United Kingdom
that has now been found in at least eight U.S. states, including
California, Colorado, Florida and New York.
Pennsylvania and Texas became the latest two states added to the
list on Thursday, but health officials say spread of the UK variant
will likely accelerate across the country in the weeks and months to
come.
RAMPING UP VACCINATIONS
With the pressure on healthcare systems growing by the day,
political leaders announced steps to quicken the rate of
inoculations.
On Wednesday, top health officials announced plans to start
distributing COVID-19 vaccines through pharmacies around the country
earlier than expected this week as states have struggled to
administer supplies they have received.
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 The partnership with 19
pharmacy chains will eventually allow the Trump
administration's Operation Warp Speed program to
deliver vaccines to as many as 40,000 locations
around the country, U.S. officials said at a
news conference on Wednesday.
U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex
Azar also told governors to not let vaccines go
unused due to policies requiring healthcare
workers get the shots first. If
states are struggling to distribute the vaccine, "then by all means
you want to be opening up to people 70 and over or 65 and over," he
said.
Public health officials say that about 25 percent of healthcare
workers are declining the vaccine.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de
Blasio have bickered over the best vaccination plan in the state,
which has recorded more than 38,000 COVID-19 deaths, by far the most
of any U.S. state. On Thursday, de Blasio sharply
criticized Cuomo for shutting down the mayor's plan to start
vaccinating a second group of people in the state, which includes
people 75 or older and frontline "essential" workers.
De Blasio said New York City's public hospitals have thousands of
available shots due in part to healthcare workers declining
vaccinations. Cuomo argues that all healthcare workers should be
vaccinated first before the state opens up inoculations to other
residents.
In neighboring New Jersey, Governor Phil Murphy said on Wednesday
that vaccinations are being offered to police, firefighters and
other essential workers.
"It is not necessary to vaccinate all individuals in one phase
before moving on to the next phase," Judy Persichilli, the state's
health commissioner, said at a news briefing alongside the governor.
 (Reporting by Maria Caspani, Barbara Goldberg and Michael Erman in
New York, Lucia Mutikani in Washington, Anurag Maan in Bengaluru,
Lisa Shumaker in Chicago and Dan Whitcomb in Los Angeles; editing by
Bill Berkot, Dan Grebler, Jonathan Oatis and Raju Gopalakrishnan)
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