On the way to ending the pandemic, so far more people have been vaccinated than the total number of cases: data

(Reuters) – There are now more people vaccinated against COVID-19 who have not been infected by the virus that has swept the world over the past year, a milestone on the way to ending the pandemic, according to data released on Wednesday.

Despite the relevant data, it is still unclear how long it will take to vaccinate the world. Many of those vaccinated have only received one of the required doses.

A total of 104.9 million doses of vaccine have been administered, according to Our World in Data, based at Oxford University, and the latest data this Wednesday from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States . The total number of vaccines now exceeds 104.1 million cases of COVID-19 infection on a global Reuters tracker.

COVID-19 infections here are still rising in 44 countries and the virus has killed at least 2.26 million people worldwide, according to the Reuters tracker. Health experts are rushing to vaccinate as much as possible against new, more contagious variants.

Duke University’s Center for Global Health Innovation confirms global purchases of 7.7 billion doses with another 5 billion doses negotiated or reserved as optional extensions to existing offerings.

Israel leads the world as it has administered enough doses of vaccine to 28% of its population, assuming each person needs two doses, according to Our World in Data.

World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Tuesday called for greater cooperation between countries to achieve global vaccination on a scale necessary to end the pandemic.

“Despite the growing number of vaccine options, current manufacturing capacity only meets a fraction of global needs,” he wrote in Foreign Policy magazine.

“Allowing the majority of the world’s population not to be vaccinated will not only perpetuate unnecessary disease and death and the pain of ongoing blockages, but will also generate new mutations in the virus, as COVID-19 continues to spread among unprotected populations. “, wrote bit.ly/ 3oGW3Qd.

Rich countries vying for the supply of vaccines against COVID-19 must take into account the situation of the world’s poorest parts, the WHO said last week, warning that the hoarding of gunfire “keeps the pandemic on “.

Global tracker GRAPHIC-COVID-19: here