Despite attention being on national events recently, Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration has released information on new and ongoing programs in the fight against the COVID-19 virus.

According to a December 2020 report on nursing home surveys, 624 investigations were made in 400 facilities, 249 of which were COVID-specific.

“We continue to investigate all complaints for our nursing homes across the state, especially as these facilities may face further challenges by the COVID-19 pandemic,” Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said.

Wolf is also directing an additional $2.2 billion in federal stimulus finds to supporting K-12 school food programs, technological improvements and other education services.

“All schools have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and I commend school communities for rising to the challenge to combat the toll it has taken,” Wolf said. “This extra funding is critical to help schools meet the unique needs of educating students at this time while keeping school buildings safe when students return to the classroom.”

The federal relief is provided by the bipartisan Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act’s Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund passed by Congress in December 2020.

Additionally, they have released updated numbers on vaccine distribution. Pennsylvania hospitals began receiving shipments of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine the week of Dec. 14, 2020 and Moderna COVID-19 vaccine the week of Dec. 21, 2020.

Through Jan. 14, 427,713 doses of the vaccine have been administered at hospitals and through CVS as part of the Federal Pharmacy Partnership. Of these, 307,915 people received one dose and 59,899 people that have received two doses.

As of Jan. 18, the state has 681,461 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 19,930 deaths. Lehigh County has 25,541 confirmed cases and 610 deaths; Northampton County has 20,716 confirmed cases and 511 deaths.