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Five million dead (and rising) since COVID-19 emerged in Wuhan, China two years ago
Vaccines cut fatality rates but case numbers continue to go up, possibly as immunity wanes from doses administered in spring
Vaccines cut fatality rates but case numbers continue to go up, possibly as immunity wanes from doses administered in spring
Author of the article:
Bloomberg News
Jinshan Hong
Publishing date:
Nov 01, 2021 • 10 hours ago • 3 minute read •
260 Comments
More than five million people worldwide have died from COVID-19 since the novel pathogen first emerged in Wuhan, China, in late 2019 — despite the arrival of vaccines that have slashed fatality rates across the globe, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
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The latest one million recorded deaths came slower than the previous two. It took more than 110 days to go from four million deaths to five million, compared to less than 90 days each to reach the three- and four-million marks. The rate has returned to what was seen during the first year of the pandemic, when the virus was still taking hold.
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“With almost 50,000 deaths a week, the pandemic is far from over — and that’s just the reported deaths,” World Health Organization Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at the World Health Summit in Berlin on Oct. 24.
Billions of people remain unvaccinated either because they lack access to the shots or are unwilling to receive them, leaving them vulnerable to an infection that has grown more dangerous over time. Transmission of the virus continues, driven by the emergence of the more infectious delta variant.
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The U.S. alone accounted for 14 per cent of the last million deaths — the highest share of any country. Russia posted 10 per cent of the total, while Indonesia and Brazil were each responsible for eight per cent. India and Mexico are among the nations with the largest cumulative numbers of cases.
The world has already been through three major COVID infection waves, and fatality rates have gradually fallen with each successive one.
Many countries have started reopening their economies, easing pandemic curbs and re-engaging with the rest of the world as they accept the virus is now endemic. The immunity gained from inoculations will be put to the test in the coming months, however, as the vaccinated in the northern hemisphere face their first full winter since getting the shots.
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The new demand from high-income countries for both booster shots and vaccines for children has increased competition for doses, often leaving low- and middle-income nations further down the line. The WHO-backed COVAX effort has struggled with supply and funding issues.
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Each country, and sometimes individual regions within countries, face their own unique situations. Cases are surging anew even in such highly vaccinated places as the U.K. and Belgium.
Cases overall have risen in England since the country dropped its remaining restrictions in July, despite high levels of vaccination across the country. Some scientists have suggested it may be due to waning immunity from doses administered in the spring.
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China leads the world in the number of vaccine doses administered, though some other nations have vaccinated a greater share of their population. China’s tally of new infections peaked in mid-February 2020 and approached zero within a month, although questions surround the accuracy of its data.
In countries where vaccination rates lag, the situation is worse. With COVID deaths at record levels in Russia, Moscow’s unvaccinated seniors have been asked to stay home. Romania ran out of intensive-care beds, while Latvia has returned to full-on crisis mode, shutting restaurants, hair salons and schools.
Only five African countries out of 54 are expected to hit the target of vaccinating 40 per cent of their population by the end of the year, according to the WHO. Experts say the spread of the virus in countries with little protection from vaccines could lead to more variants.
“Vaccine inequity is not just holding the poorest countries back — it is holding the world back,” Henrietta Fore, executive director of UNICEF, said in a statement Oct. 27.
