Worldwide COVID-19 death toll tops a staggering three million
What's the story
The global death toll from the coronavirus topped a staggering three million people on Saturday amid repeated setbacks in the worldwide vaccination campaign.
The number of lives lost, as compiled by Johns Hopkins University, is about equal to the population of Kyiv, Ukraine, or Caracas, Venezuela. It is bigger than Chicago (2.7 million) and equivalent to Philadelphia and Dallas combined.
COVID-19 spread
Many nations are still struggling to vaccinate their people
Even as the US and Britain see their vaccination drives hit their stride, other places both rich and poor, France and India among them, are lagging behind in putting shots in arms and have imposed new lockdowns and other restrictions as cases soar.
Worldwide, deaths are running at over 12,000 per day on average and new cases at more than 700,000 a day.
COVID-19 numbers
Actual COVID-19 deaths maybe higher than recorded
The true number is believed to be significantly higher because of possible government concealment or the many cases overlooked in the early stages of the outbreak that began 16 months ago in Wuhan, China, at the end of 2019.
Around the world, the trajectory of the virus and the race to bring it under control vary widely from country to country.
Information
US tops the COVID-19 death toll chart
The death toll in the US due to COVID-19 is over 560,000, accounting for more than 1 in 6 of the world's COVID-19 deaths, by far the highest reported by any country. The United States is followed by Brazil, Mexico, India, and Britain.
COVID-19 vaccination
Many countries have put J&J and AstraZeneca vaccines on hold
This month, the US recommended a pause in the use of Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine while the authorities investigate extremely rare but dangerous blood clots, and therefore, some European countries are putting the vaccine on hold, too.
AstraZeneca's vaccine has likewise been hit with delays and restrictions in some countries because of a clotting scare.
AstraZeneca
Denmark is first European country to permanently drop AstraZeneca vaccine
On Wednesday, Denmark permanently stopped the usage of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.
It is the first European nation to put a complete halt on the vaccine's usage, over suspected rare but serious adverse reactions.
After the vaccination drive started, two cases of thrombosis — one which was fatal — came to the fore. By then, more than 140,000 people had received the jab.