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U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams on Tuesday urged states to speed up vaccinations by moving down the list of priority groups if supply is outstripping demand from one group. Adams’s comments about a way to increase the pace of vaccination come amid widespread concerns about the slow rollout of vaccines so far. Adams, speaking on NBC’s “Today” show, said states should not be so concerned about vaccinating people in the exact right order that they end up slowing down the process. (Sullivan, 1/5)

Acknowledging that coronavirus vaccination around the United States was going slowly, Dr. Jerome Adams, the surgeon general, urged the states on Tuesday not to stick rigidly to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines about whom to vaccinate first. If fewer health care workers are agreeing to be vaccinated, he said, states should “move quickly to other priority groups,” such as people older than 75 and essential workers. (Goodnough, 1/5)

The Trump administration late Tuesday said it's accelerating a plan to begin offering coronavirus shots in pharmacies — a move that comes after federal officials faced fierce criticism for the slow pace of immunizations. Within the next two weeks, Operation Warp Speed, the federal government’s vaccine accelerator, estimates 3,000 to 6,000 pharmacies could begin administering Covid-19 shots, according to a senior HHS official. The administration announced in November that it would work with major pharmacy chains and independent community pharmacies to distribute vaccines but didn't lay out a timetable. (Roubein, 1/5)

In an effort to speed California’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout, dentists in the state have been given the green light to administer the jab. On Monday, the California Department of Consumer Affairs approved a public health emergency waiver that will officially allow dentists to administer the vaccines to patients 16 years of age or older. "Dentists acting within the scope of this Order may independently initiate and administer to persons 16 years of age or older any COVID-19 vaccines that are approved or authorized by the FDA, as specified, and may also initiate and administer epinephrine or diphenhydramine by injection for the treatment of a severe allergic reaction," the order reads. (Farber, 1/5)

Nancy Messonnier, a top federal health official involved in the distribution of Covid-19 vaccines, predicted on Tuesday that delays in the administration of the shots would improve soon, even as public health experts have piled up complaints about the slow rollout and about the gap between the number of doses distributed versus those actually going into people’s arms. (Joseph, 1/5)

The U.S. could soon be giving at least a million COVID-19 vaccinations a day despite the sluggish start, Dr. Anthony Fauci said Tuesday, even as he warned of a dangerous next few weeks as the coronavirus surges. The slow pace is frustrating health officials and a desperate public alike, with only about a third of the first supplies shipped to states used as of Tuesday morning, just over three weeks into the vaccination campaign. “Any time you start a big program, there’s always glitches. I think the glitches have been worked out,” the nation’s top infectious disease expert told The Associated Press. (Neergaard, 1/5)