The U.S. and a dozen other countries issued a rare joint statement on Tuesday questioning the validity of a World Health Organization study into the origins of the coronavirus, which was first detected in Wuhan, China, and has now killed almost 2.8 million people across the globe.

“We support a transparent and independent analysis and evaluation, free from interference and undue influence, of the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this regard, we join in expressing shared concerns regarding the recent WHO-convened study in China,” reads the statement, which was issued by the U.S. State Department in coordination with a raft of other governments, including Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom.

The controversy swirled as the U.S. reported that half of all seniors have now been vaccinated. "Vaccination milestone," tweeted Andy Slavitt, White House senior COVID adviser. "50% of all seniors have now been fully vaccinated."

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The statement included strong support for the WHO and did not directly blame China for interfering with the scientific probe. But it said health experts were delayed in studying the origins of the virus and that even when granted access, they were denied “complete, original data and samples.”

“The mission of the WHO is critical to advancing global health and health security,” the statement said."Scientific missions like these should be able to do their work under conditions that produce independent and objective recommendations and findings.”

The WHO’s director, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has also highlighted China’s lack of cooperation.

“I do not believe that this assessment was extensive enough," he said. "Further data and studies will be needed to reach more robust conclusions.”

►German health officials recommended restricting the use of AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine in people under 60, amid fresh concern over unusual blood clots reported in a tiny number of those who received the shots. Canada suspended use of the vaccine among people under 55.

►The University of Connecticut football team cut its spring practices short because of positive COVID-19 test results and subsequent contact tracing protocols, the Hartford Courant reported. The Huskies were one of a small number of FBS teams to opt out of the 2020-21 season.

►England had a glimmer of good news: London had no deaths reported for one day. During a spike in cases during January, more than 200 deaths a day linked to the virus were recorded in the capital.

? Today's numbers: The U.S. has over 30.3 million confirmed coronavirus cases and more than 550,900 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data. The global totals: 128.1 million cases and 2.8 million deaths. More than 180.64 million vaccine doses have been distributed in the U.S. and 145.8 million have been administered, according to the CDC.

The Education Department announced Tuesday that it was expanding its pause on student loan payments for about 1.4 million borrowers who weren’t previously eligible for relief during the coronavirus pandemic. The newest policy applies to borrowers who had defaulted on their Federal Family Education Loans (FFEL), a type of loan made by private parties then backed by the federal government. Typically, those in default hadn’t made payments in more than nine months.

The government ended the FFEL program in 2010, though millions still hold these types of loans. The action is the latest expansion of the government’s loan relief for borrowers struggling economically during the coronavirus pandemic. In recent weeks, it had also offered more relief to borrowers with severe disabilities and those who had proven their colleges had defrauded them.

As COVID-19 cases creep up again across the country, federal officials and epidemiologists say they're worried we could hit another tipping point, leading to a fourth significant surge of infections, hospitalizations and deaths. Average daily reported cases are up 10% compared to a week earlier, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows, with more than 30 million COVID-19 cases reported since early last year. Hospitalizations and deaths, which usually lag cases by a few weeks, have inched upward as well, after a decline and plateau that began in early January.

"We're skating on a knife's edge right now," said Nicholas Reich, a biostatistician at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.