MICHELLE R. SMITH Associated Press
AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File
In this Dec. 24, file photo, healthcare workers wait in line to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at Seton Medical Center in Daly City, Calif.
New York’s governor threatened to fine hospitals if they don’t use their allotment of COVID-19 vaccine fast enough. His South Carolina counterpart warned health care workers they have until Jan. 15 to get a shot or move to the back of the line. California’s governor wants to use dentists to vaccinate people.
With frustration rising over the sluggish rollout of the vaccine, state leaders and other politicians around the U.S. are turning up the pressure, improvising and seeking to bend the rules to get shots in arms more quickly.
By Maria Caspani and Anurag Maan
NEW YORK (Reuters) - As the events that unfolded in Washington on Wednesday captured the nation s attention, the raging coronavirus pandemic claimed its highest U.S. death toll yet, killing more than 4,000 people in a single day, according to a Reuters tally.
COVID-19 hospitalizations stood at 132,051, stetting a grim record for the fourth day in a row as of late Wednesday night, a Reuters analysis of public health data showed.
As thousands of mostly unmasked supporters of President Donald Trump laid siege to the U.S. Capitol building, daily reported cases of the novel coronavirus soared again past the 250,000 mark, taking the total case tally to 21.2 million.
Meanwhile, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said Wednesday that the government will allow more drugstores to start giving vaccinations to speed up the process.