Increases in caseloads have been observed in all continents except for Europe. The largest increase continues to be reported by the South-East Asia Region, largely driven by India, which has registered a 50% increase in new infections compared to the previous week.
 
Last week, an important landmark in the vaccination campaign was reached: more than 1 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered. In the US, one in three people over the age of 18 years are fully vaccinated and more than half of US adults have received at least one dose of vaccine. In the EU, vaccination programs are finally ramping up inoculation rates. Moreover, several European countries are beginning to loosen restrictions on movement and economic activities.
 
A recent survey carried out by the World Health Organization (WHO) highlighted that, over a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, 90% of countries are still reporting some degree of disruptions to their essential health services, therefore negatively affecting access to care for other health issues. Such disruptions are also having repercussions on mass vaccination campaigns against preventable diseases, putting around 228 million people –mostly children– at risk for diseases such as measles, yellow fever and polio.

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