Washington, Jan 27 (AP) White House Coronavirus Coordinator Jeff Zients is saying in the Biden administration's first formal briefing on the pandemic that officials will always hew to the science and level with the public.

Rochelle Walensky, the new head of the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, says her agency's latest forecast indicates the US will record between 479,000 to 514,000 deaths by February 20.

Zients says the federal Department of Health and Human Services is acting Wednesday to make more professionals available to administer vaccinations. The government will authorise nurses and doctors who have retired to administer vaccines, and professionals licensed in one state will be able to administer shots in other states. Such measures are fairly standard in health emergencies.

The US leads the world with 25.4 million confirmed cases and more than 425,000 deaths. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)