One billion COVID-19 vaccine doses administered globally

(Karachi) At least more than one billion COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered to people worldwide, local media reported on Sunday.

As per details, 1,002,938,540 vaccine doses have been administered in 207 countries and territories. One in four people in rich countries has been vaccinated, compared with one in every 500 in low-income nations.

Most numbers of vaccine doses have been administered in the United States with 225.6 million doses; China with 216.1 million doses; and India with 138.4 million.

In addition, more than 51 percent of the population in the United Arab Emirates has received at least one jab, 49 percent in the United Kingdom, 41 percent in Chile, Bahrain with 38 percent, and Uruguay with 32 percent.

The deadly virus has claimed the lives of more than three million people worldwide since the outbreak emerged in China in December 2019.

The situation in India is the worst as 346,786 new cases emerged on Saturday, a record for a single country since the start of the pandemic.

Earlier, the World Health Organization said the trajectory of the coronavirus pandemic has now become intense with a drastic rise in infections.

Maria Van Kerkhove, the agency’s technical lead for Covid-19, said the world has reached a critical point of the pandemic as some countries eased restrictions even as new cases per week are more than eight times higher than a year ago.

Last month, WHO officials warned of a steady rise in Covid-19 cases and deaths, urging people to stick with mask mandates and social distancing rules as the world enters a critical phase of the pandemic.