reported nearly 2,500 Covid-19 fatalities for Thursday, bringing the nation’s death toll to more than 490,000, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

A brutal winter storm, which left millions of Americans without electricity, water and heat in freezing conditions, has also closed some Covid-19 vaccination and testing sites and delayed vaccine shipments to states.

Federal officials are projecting widespread delays in vaccine shipments and deliveries over the next few days.

In at least one instance, the power outages across several states have threatened the storage of the Covid-19 vaccines, which need to be kept at cold temperatures before administration.

The Harris County Public Health building in Houston lost power early Monday morning, and the backup generator also failed, sending health officials scrambling to administer 8,430 doses of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine, according to county officials.

The Houston Methodist hospital system received 1,000 doses from the county, administering most on-site and sending a few hundred to a nearby synagogue, said Roberta Schwartz, executive vice president of Houston Methodist and its Covid-19 incidence manager.

LIMA, Peru—After Peru’s death toll from Covid-19 surged last fall, nearly 500 politically connected people, including then-President Martin Vizcarra, were secretly given a Chinese vaccine, according to Peru’s government.

Cases of Covid-19 in nursing homes continue to drop rapidly, according to federal data, in a sign that widespread vaccination in the facilities is starting to have an impact.

contributions to the international Covax program, administration officials said Thursday, directly engaging the nation in global efforts to supply Covid-19 vaccines to the world’s poorest countries.

In a call with reporters Thursday, senior administration officials said Mr.

The Biden administration said the initial contribution will come from funding appropriated by Congress in December, which is expected to be disbursed by the end of this month.

will begin releasing an additional $2 billion through 2021 and 2022, officials said, when other countries meet their existing donor pledges and initial doses of the vaccine are delivered to low- and middle-income countries.

A White House official said the Biden administration’s commitment is “to ensure that there is global access to equitable, safe and effective vaccines to help beat the pandemic.”.

Biden will also call on G-7 and other nations to put billions more in resources toward expanding global Covid-19 vaccinations and bolstering the manufacturing, supply and delivery of the vaccine, officials said.

Biden administration officials stopped short of saying if the U.S.

The Biden administration has secured contracts with Pfizer and Moderna for more than 200 million additional doses of the vaccine, which the president has said should enable most of the adult U.S.

WASHINGTON--The Biden administration has rejected a request from leaders in Washington D.C., Maryland and Virginia asking the federal government to assume responsibility for vaccinating tens of thousands of federal workers in the region.

Ralph Northam penned a joint letter requesting the administration help directly supply and distribute Covid-19 vaccines to more than 30,000 federal workers in the National Capital Region.

The letter, which was directed to the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Department of Health and Human Services, further requested that the administration establish a federally supported and operated vaccination site to administer doses to federal workers and others employed by the Metro transit system.

In their letter, they asked the administration to dip into vaccine allotments that have been used to prioritize certain federal employees and contractors, as well as members of Congress and the military.