Europe recorded a strong increase in incidence (20%) whereas America is the only region where new cases have declined. The largest increase in new deaths was observed in Africa. The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases now exceeds 187 million and the number of deaths has surpassed 4 million.
The Delta variant continues its expansion, being found in a total of 111 countries (15 new countries). Dr. Tedros Adhanom, Head of the WHO, alerted “Variants are currently winning the race against vaccines because of inequitable vaccine production and distribution, which also threatens the global economic recovery.” Although the number of doses administered is increasing every day, reaching almost 3.5 billion, the disparity between countries is notable –the highest-income countries are getting vaccinated more than 30 times faster.
Sinopharm and Sinovac, China’s two major COVID-19 vaccine makers, have signed agreements to provide up to 550 million vaccines to the COVAX program. The deals include up to 170 million doses of the Sinopharm shot and up to 380 million doses of the Sinovac vaccine, through to the middle of 2022.
The debate about the administration of a third dose of the COVID-19 Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine is on the table. Pfizer and partner BioNTech are seeking the US and European authorization, based on evidence of greater risk of infection six months after inoculation and the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant.
Finally, as a consequence of the rising of new COVID-19 infections, the Olympic Games in Tokyo will not have spectators due to the state of emergency announced by the government.
The Delta variant continues its expansion, being found in a total of 111 countries (15 new countries). Dr. Tedros Adhanom, Head of the WHO, alerted “Variants are currently winning the race against vaccines because of inequitable vaccine production and distribution, which also threatens the global economic recovery.” Although the number of doses administered is increasing every day, reaching almost 3.5 billion, the disparity between countries is notable –the highest-income countries are getting vaccinated more than 30 times faster.
Sinopharm and Sinovac, China’s two major COVID-19 vaccine makers, have signed agreements to provide up to 550 million vaccines to the COVAX program. The deals include up to 170 million doses of the Sinopharm shot and up to 380 million doses of the Sinovac vaccine, through to the middle of 2022.
The debate about the administration of a third dose of the COVID-19 Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine is on the table. Pfizer and partner BioNTech are seeking the US and European authorization, based on evidence of greater risk of infection six months after inoculation and the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant.
Finally, as a consequence of the rising of new COVID-19 infections, the Olympic Games in Tokyo will not have spectators due to the state of emergency announced by the government.