The first major winter storm of the season made its way up the East Coast on Wednesday, heading for New England after dumping rain, ice and snow from Virginia through New York — and like everything in 2020, it was made more complicated by the coronavirus pandemic. The storm also threatened the timely delivery of a coronavirus vaccine, just as the first inoculations of health care workers began this week. St. Luke’s University Health Network, which operates 12 hospitals in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, expected to receive its first vaccine delivery on Thursday, but a spokesman said there was a possibility it would be delayed by the storm. Several major cities, including Baltimore and Hartford, Conn., temporarily shut down coronavirus testing sites in anticipation of heavy snow and wind. And in some cities, including Syracuse, N.Y., officials were dealing with less snow removal money than normal, after their budgets were decimated by the economic effects of the pandemic.

Source: New York Times December 17, 2020 03:11 UTC