Pharmacies to get vaccine shipments

The Biden administration announced Tuesday it will begin direct shipments of coronavirus vaccines to retail pharmacies across the country.

Starting on Feb 11, 1 million doses will be distributed to about 6,500 pharmacies, White House COVID-19 response coordinator Jeff Zients said in a briefing.

"Millions of Americans turn to their local pharmacies every day for their medicines, flu shots and much more. And pharmacies are readily accessible in most communities, with most Americans living within 5 miles of a pharmacy," he said. "This will provide more sites for people to get vaccinated in their communities."

The number of participating pharmacies and allocation of vaccines is expected to accelerate as drugmakers increase production. The White House said the ultimate goal is to distribute the vaccines through more than 40,000 pharmacies nationwide.

The administration also announced it is boosting the weekly allocation of vaccines going to states, territories and Native American tribes to 10.5 million doses beginning this week, a 22 percent increase since Biden took office on Jan 20.

Meanwhile, Moderna, the maker of one of the two federally authorized COVID-19 vaccines, proposed to increase the number of doses in its vials. The company is looking to ease a logjam in manufacturing and to expand its distribution.

"The company is proposing filling vials with additional doses of vaccine, up to 15 doses versus the current 10 doses," Moderna said in a statement Monday.

The current dose limit is slowing output of the vaccine, company spokesman Ray Jordan said, as the company approaches the manufacturing of almost a million doses a day.

Moderna's president, Stephen Hoge, said that additional doses would help address capacity constraints, noting that "beyond the amount of drug product available, is how many vials you can fill in a given period of time".

Moderna has discussed the possible change with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) but has not yet submitted manufacturing data to support, according to The New York Times.

Chinese Americans were among the racial and ethnic groups hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City, according to recent research by NYC Health + Hospitals, the city's public hospital system.

Although Chinese New Yorkers had lower test positivity and hospitalization rates, the disaggregating data shows that they have had the highest COVID-19 death rates of all racial and ethnic groups.

They had a mortality rate of 37 percent, nearly 1.5 times more likely to die from COVID-19 than white patients, according to the report.

The research analyzed 85,328 patients tested for COVID-19 in New York City's public hospital system — the largest public health care system in the United States.

"I think so much of this really speaks to the social factors — multiple generations living in crowded housing, not being able to work remotely. I think we've been missing that for so long," Roopa Kalyanaraman Marcello, study co-author and a senior director of research and evaluation for the city hospital system's Office of Population Health, told NBC News.

Andrew Yang, the former Democratic presidential candidate who is currently running for mayor of New York City, announced Tuesday that he has tested positive for the coronavirus.

"I am experiencing mild symptoms but am otherwise feeling well and in good spirits. I will quarantine in accordance with public health guidelines and follow the advice of my doctor," Yang said in a statement.

Yang said he still plans to attend virtual events, adding that "when the time is right, I look forward to once again hitting the campaign trail and advancing a positive vision for our city's future".

Indoor dining will resume with limited capacity in New York City restaurants on Feb 14, Governor Andrew M Cuomo said Friday, more than a month after the governor had banned it as virus cases climbed.

However, concerns have been raised about bringing staffers back to work indoors when restaurant workers still aren't eligible for vaccinations. Average per-capita case counts in New York City were 64 percent higher than when Cuomo announced an indefinite ban on indoor dining in December, The New York Times reported on Tuesday.

Cuomo defended his decision, saying public safety must be balanced with economic concerns. "People need to work, they need income," Cuomo said at Monday's news conference. "The federal government is talking about sending a check, but it won't be a substitute for sustained income."

Agencies contributed to this story.