COVID-19 Outbreak: Weekly Global Report for Friday, June 4, 2021
AdvaMed recognizes that its members, particularly those with global government affairs responsibilities, are tracking COVID-19 related developments around the world to assess the public health and economic impacts on their businesses. Knowing that companies are consuming information from a variety of sources, AdvaMed's global team would like to provide members with a weekly snapshot of the key statistics, policy developments and advocacy initiatives underway in our priority markets. If you have any suggestions, we welcome your feedback.
Global
- Weekly COVID-19 statistics: global cases increased by around 3.3 million to reach a total of 171.3 million cases. Deaths around the world have exceeded 3.7 million. The countries with the most reported cases continue to be the U.S. (33.3 million), India (28.4 million) and Brazil (16.7 million).
- U.S. cases exceeded 33.2 million with deaths increasing to 592,000.
- Staff Contact: Ralph Ives (rives@advamed.org).
China
- Overview: China’s massive vaccination effort, while far from perfect, made tremendous strides in May with over 350 million of its citizens receiving a jab within the month alone. China is currently administering around 17-20 million doses a day, according to the National Health Commission. In total, 704 million Chinese citizens have received at least one COVID vaccine dose to date. China appears well on track to meet its goal of fully vaccinating 40% of its population (560 million) by the end of June, with government experts now calling for a new target of vaccinating 80% of the population by year’s end. Despite this progress, Beijing has given no indication it intends to change its current COVID playbook of closed borders, strict quarantine for foreign arrivals, and aggressive lockdowns when flareups return. A case in point: this week, a handful of cities in China’s southern Guangdong province were placed into lockdown after a few locally transmitted cases were reported there.
- Weekly COVID-19 statistics: China’s total COVID cases now stand at 103,070 an increase of 145 cases over the previous week. The number of reported deaths remained unchanged over the previous week at 4,846.
- China’s vaccines and approval date: Sinopharm (approved Dec. 31, 2020); Sinovac’s CoronaVac (approved on Feb. 5); CanSino Biologics and a second Sinopharm vaccine (both approved in April).
- Beijing leads in vaccine roll-out: The Chinese capital has administered over 26.61 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, with the vaccination rate among people aged 18 and above reaching 80 percent, as of late May.
- BioNTech vaccine: A unit of Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical has agreed to form a US$200 million joint venture with German partner BioNTech to build a plant in China capable of supplying up to 1 billion doses a year. Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Industry Development will contribute up to US$100 million of assets including cash and a manufacturing facility, while BioNTech will chip in the license and know-how to produce the vaccine. With the announcement, BioNTech’s vaccine is poised to become the first foreign vaccine widely available in China.
- WHO approves second Chinese vaccine: The World Health Organization on Tuesday authorized China’s Sinovac vaccine for emergency use, meaning it intends to use under its vaccine procurement program Covax. Real world data in Brazil shows that the Sinovac vaccine offers a higher level of protection than previously reported in clinical studies. Earlier in May, the WHO added the Sinopharm vaccine to its list of approved COVID-19 jabs.
- Vaccine diplomacy: According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, China is providing free vaccines to 80 countries and commercially exporting them to 40 more. In total. China has exported 350 million doses by the end of May.
- Some travel restrictions between the U.S. and China eased: China said it was willing to resume a travel exchange with the United States following an announcement by the U.S. that it was easing some coronavirus travel bans. The U.S. has announced it will allow students and professionals in various categories and from various countries, including China, to enter the country. The announcement comes more than a year after the US suspended entry for travelers who had been in mainland China 14 days before travelling because of the Covid-19 outbreak.
- Updated estimates on 2020 hospital visits: according to the National Health Commission, the total number of hospital visits/medical consultations in January through September 2020 reached 3.9 billion, a decrease of 15.3% over the same period in 2019. It is important to note that this percentage decrease has gotten progressively smaller since June, perhaps indicating Chinese patients have become more comfortable in visiting medical institutions in the second half of 2020.
- S. to redouble efforts to probe COVID-19 origins: President Biden issued a statement last week calling on U.S. intelligence agencies to “redouble their efforts” to determine the virus’ origins. The IC has 90 days to come to a more definitive assessment after initial findings yielded different conclusions.
- China’s Economy: The National Bureau of Statistics released economic data for April, showing industrial output growth of 9.8 percent year-on-year, down from 14.1 percent in March. Retail sales recorded 17.7 percent growth, below analyst expectations and almost halving from the 34.2 percent recorded the previous month. In addition, fixed asset investment growth decreased from the 25.6 percent recorded in Q1 to 19.9 percent. Finally, the surveyed jobless rate showed a minor improvement of 0.2 percent from March to 5.1 percent.
- S.-China relations: Policy reviews of Trump-era sanctions, initiatives, and Executive Orders on China are underway across U.S. government, with the White House providing oversight. The Commerce Department and Treasury Department have already begun reviewing existing export controls and financial sanctions against PRC entities, respectively. USTR has yet to commence its “top-to-bottom” review of the Phase One agreement, the 301 tariffs, and trade policy towards China more generally. USTR Tai, in a recent Congressional hearing, recognized that “time is of the essence” as it relates to USTR’s review.
- Staff Contact: Kyle Churchman (kchurchman@advamed.org)
India
- Weekly COVID-19 statistics – 28,440,988 total cases, 1,713,413 active cases/337,989 deaths/ discharged 26,390,584 (John Hopkins & MoHFW) as compared to 27,367,935 total cases, 2,419,907 active cases/315,235 deaths/ discharged 24,633,951 (John Hopkins & MoHFW) last week. 22,10,43,693 people have been vaccinated.
- The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has given a green signal to foreign vaccines to be approved in India without specific clinical trials in the country before usage. This could be a big step in making vaccination drive a bigger success.
- The government on Wednesday, June 02, informed that the Department of Biotechnology(DBT) is providing its support to three public enterprises in an effort to ramp up the domestic vaccine production capacity in the country.
- The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) on Tuesday, June 01, issued directions on how to use the new drug called 2-DG for Covid patients. The drug can be given to patients under the care and prescription of doctors as it issued directions for its use.
- The ICMR has invited independent researchers from across India to contribute to the scientific knowledge related to Covid-19 by submitting their innovative research ideas in identified priority areas, stating that there is scanty knowledge available related to the functional aspects of the virus, its transmission dynamics, immunological response to natural infection and vaccines.
- BRICS foreign ministers came together in a meeting on Tuesday, June 01, to back talks at WTO for a global vaccine patent waiver, a proposal India and South Africa have been raising for ramping up Covid-19 vaccine production.
- The government on Tuesday, June 01 imposed curbs on the export of Amphotericin-B injections that are used for the treatment of mucormycosis or black fungus infections. According to a notification issued by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), the export of the injections has been put in the restricted category.
- The government’s Central Drugs Laboratory (CDL), Kasauli has cleared the first batch of Indian-made Sputnik V vaccine doses manufactured by Hyderabad-based Hetero Biopharma, which the company will use to start its phase-3 clinical trial.
- Eli Lilly and Company India on Tuesday, June 01, said it has received permission for emergency use of its antibody drugs combination used for the treatment of mild to moderate Covid-19, in the country. The company has received permission for restricted emergency use of its monoclonal antibody drugs, bamlanivimab 700 mg and etesevimab 1400 mg, used together for the treatment of patients with mild to moderate Covid-19, Eli Lilly said in a statement.
- Covaxin phase 2-3 clinical trials are set to begin on a total of 525 children this week. Experts have called it a crucial step to access the safety, reactogenicity and immunogenicity of the vaccine in children of 2-18 years age group.
- The Supreme Court on Monday, May 31, questioned the Central government on its dual policy for procurement of Covid-19 vaccines and said that there needs to be one price for the vaccines across the nation.
- The Centre on Monday, May 31 told the Supreme Court that it expects the country’s entire population above 18 years to be vaccinated against Covid-19 by the end of the year, but the court remained sceptical of the claim citing impediments in the form of dual pricing and allocation of vaccines at different prices to states and private hospitals.
- Almost half of Indians showed their dissatisfaction with the Indian government's way of handling the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic that began its second wave in March 2021. A total of 46.6 per cent people in a survey said they did not "think the Indian government is handling the Coronavirus well".
- The Indian Institute of Technology(IIT)-Hyderabad has developed nanofibre-based, controlled-release oral tablets of amphotericin B (AmB) to treat post-Covid fungal infections. Researchers have kept the technology free of intellectual property rights and are looking for pharmaceutical partners who can take up mass-scale production.
- Healthcare and pharmaceutical major Zydus Cadila has sought the permission of Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) to start human clinical trials for monoclonal antibodies cocktail to treat Covid-19.
- Bharat Biotech, which faced a red flag from Brazil's health regulator for the supply of Covid-19 vaccine Covaxin to that country over the issues of Good Manufacturing Practices in its plant, has filed a new request to the Brazilian authorities for certification.
- A new study by IIT Mandi researchers has unravelled the part of a key protein structure in the Covid-19 virus, that can facilitate in understanding the mode of action and role of the Key protein (in spread and severity of the disease) for the development of antiviral therapeutics.
- Staff Contact: Abby Pratt (apratt@advamed.org).
Japan
- Weekly COVID-19 statistics – 755,956 reported cases and 13,398 reported deaths compared to 735,495 reported cases and 12,746 reported deaths the previous week.
- The total number of serious cases in Japan continues to increase each day.
- On June 1, the Japanese government extended the COVID-19 state of emergency covering Tokyo, Osaka, and other areas for another 3 weeks as infections have yet to significantly subside, leaving the medical system strained.
- Japan has seen a significant increase since March in the number of people who cannot gain admittance to hospitals that are already full and are instead dying at home from worsening Covid-19.
- Prefectural governments are urging hospitals to open up more Covid-19- dedicated beds, which is putting further pressure on patients to avoid elective surgeries.
- Japan provided final approval to the Moderna vaccine and the Astra Zeneca vaccine on May 21. The Pfizer vaccine was approved in February. J&J submitted its application for approval of its vaccine on May 24. It is expected to be approved and available for use around the beginning of 2022.
- Moderna will provide 50 million doses of the vaccine by September. It is being used at mass vaccination centers in Tokyo and Osaka, as well as elsewhere. AstraZeneca has contracted to provide 120 million doses, which the government will stockpile for later use.
- Japan began vaccinating people age 65 or above on April 12. Supplies of vaccines are low and it appears unlikely that Japan will achieve its goal of vaccinating all of its 36 million senior citizens by the end of June. So far, roughly 10% of the population has received a vaccine dose.
- The central government has asked companies to reduce the number of workers going to the office by 70% and facilitate telecommuting and staggered commuting hours.
- The Japanese government continues to maintain its controls on foreign nationals entering the country. Reciprocal business travel arrangements that were forged with China, South Korea, Singapore, and Vietnam remain suspended. While Tokyo’s restrictions on foreign entries except for returning nationals remain in place, the government will make exceptions for athletes entering the country for the upcoming Olympic Games.
- Staff Contact: Phil Agress (PAgress@AdvaMed.org).
Korea
- South Korea’s numbers are up from last week (last week’s number is in parens). They are reporting 681 new cases per day (629). While daily cases remain somewhat stable, the country is grappling with sporadic cluster infections amid the rising number of travelers enjoying warm weather. New deaths have remained at just 3 per day and active cases are flat. South Korea has had some inconsistency in its trends of late, but continues to avoid the dramatic spikes that many other countries are experiencing.
- South Korea has 138,311 total cases, 8,542 active cases, with 1,943 deaths. Total cases per million population have remained low compared to most of the world but Korea is now significantly over the 2,000 threshold with 2,696 cases per million. (S. Korea ranks as one of the lowest among the more highly populated countries). Deaths per million remain comparatively low as well at just 38.
- Young people in Korea are finding themselves in a “COVID-19 vaccine limbo” yet again, as new eligibility guidelines block them from receiving leftover shots ahead of time. The government said Thursday that from now on, people younger than 60 years of age, who lack priority access to a vaccine, can no longer receive extra doses that eligible people did not show up for or were not fit to receive. The surprise U-turn in policy comes just a week after the launch of an online program for booking appointments for leftover vaccines.
- As Korea is vaccinating by age, most younger people are far back in the priority line, and the only way they could get a shot was to vie for spare doses in their area. Until the end of June, vaccinations are open to people in their 60s and older, workers in essential sectors and military personnel. But on Wednesday, a day before the eligibility deadline expires for people aged 60 and above, the government ordered vaccination clinics across the country to drop people younger than 60 from the standby list for leftover doses. The extra vaccines will instead be offered to those aged 60 and older, who are more vulnerable to severe cases of COVID-19, but who had failed to make an appointment by the due date.
- South Korea’s population retreated to 2016 levels as of last month, with the demographic figure posting unprecedented negative growth over the past 1 1/2 years. According to the Ministry of Interior and Safety, the nation’s population fell by 19,075 (8,685 for men and 10,390 for women) from 51.702 million in April to 51.683 million in May. It was at its lowest since October 2016 when the figure was 51.677 million.
- In contrast, the elderly population -- those aged 65 or over -- sharply climbed from 11 percent of the total in May 2011 to 13.5 percent in May 2016 and reached a record high of 16.7 percent in May 2021. Last month, 41.2 percent of the population, or 21.3 million people, were aged 50 or over.
- The Ministry of Health and Welfare has indicated that two weeks after receiving a first dose of either one of the vaccines offered in the country -- from AstraZeneca or Pfizer -- people will be able to relax on social distancing and face mask-wearing. Both AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines require two doses for maximum protection. More specifically, semi-vaccinated people can engage in larger family get-togethers and religious events from June, and go maskless outside from July, the ministry said. They will also be exempt from limits on the number of people that can gather at one time in cafes, restaurants and other public spaces.
- Fully vaccinated people, meaning two weeks have elapsed since the second dose, can also forgo masks in outdoor settings and socialize without restrictions. They won’t be subject to quarantine after traveling overseas or coming into close contact with an infected individual either, the ministry said. South Korea’s health minister stated recently that Korea could ease out of most social distancing regulations come July. The goal is to administer first doses to 13 million people by June 19, and then to 36 million people by September or possibly earlier, he said.
- The first batch of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, enough for 27,500 people, arrived in South Korea on Tuesday, health authorities said. The first batch of 55,000 bottles is part of a contract for 40 million doses signed between the Seoul government and the US pharmaceutical company. The vaccine was initially scheduled to be delivered Monday but was delayed one day due to "local circumstances" in the United States.
- The vaccine will be administered to health care workers under the age of 30 starting in mid-June. Moderna's vaccine is the third COVID-19 vaccine to arrive here after those from AstraZeneca and Pfizer Inc. The country has secured enough shots to fully vaccinate 99 million people, more than enough to vaccinate its entire population, including doses from the COVAX Facility project.
- The conversations about moving past the pandemic ways of life in Korea leave out children, who will be the last group to be eligible for COVID-19 vaccination. That means for them, the point of return to normal will come much later. With children left out of the vaccine plan, schools will be among the last places to emerge from social distancing.
- A total of 6.74 million people, including up to 381,551 in one day, have received their first shots of COVID-19 vaccines since the vaccine rollout on Feb. 26, taking up 13.1 percent of the total population. Vaccine doses by AstraZeneca and Pfizer were administered to 4.3 million and 2.4 million people, respectively.
- The KDCA said 2.2 million people, or 4.3 percent of the total population, have been fully vaccinated.
- Health authorities said they reviewed 190 cases of side effects caused by COVID-19 vaccines and decided to provide compensation for 166 cases. Of them, 154 patients will each receive payment of below 300,000 won (US$268).
- South Korea remains under fairly strict social distancing requirements. A nationwide ban on gatherings of 5 people or more continues, but up to 8 immediate family members may now gather together. Level 2 requirements are in place for Seoul and its surrounding area, with Level 1.5 for other parts of the country. Level 2 requirements include prohibitions on ‘high risk’ activities, mandatory mask wearing for all indoor and high risk outdoor activities, ceasing operations in restaurants and bars after 9 pm, and strict percentage capacity limits on schools, religious services and sporting events. Those who have received at least one COVID-19 shot are exempted from social distancing requirements. Beginning July 1, if current trends maintain, restrictions will be eased. It has already been announced that as of July 1 people who have had at least one dose may take masks off in outdoor settings.
- South Korea continues to impose suspension of direct flights from Britain.
- Foreigners arriving at South Korean airports face a mandatory 14-day quarantine procedure and must present a negative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) coronavirus test taken within 72 hours of their departure to the nation.
- Travelers from Britain and South Africa who fail to present negative PCR test results will be banned from entering the nation, and incoming Korean nationals without test results will be isolated in temporary living facilities for two weeks upon their arrival in the nation, the KDCA said.
- Resources: http://ncov.mohw.go.kr/en/.
- Staff Contact: Joseph Gatewood (jgatewood@advamed.org).
ASEAN
Cases
- ASEAN now has 4,091,825 reported cases and 80,043 reported deaths compared to 3,920,802 reported cases and 77,185 reported deaths last week.
- Malaysia: Malaysia began its third nationwide lockdown on June 1 amid a record caseload. Only essential businesses, such as supermarkets and medical clinics, may operate through June 14. Schools and shopping malls are closed and only two people per household may venture out to buy essentials or for medical services, with movement limited to a 10km radius. Reported cases have grown from 541,224 to 595,374 over the past week. Total deaths have grown from 2,491 to 3,096 over that timeframe.
- Thailand: The number of cases reported by Thailand has grown nearly 6-fold since April 1. Reported cases grew from 141,217 to 169,348 over the past week and reported deaths have increased from 920 to 1,146 over that time.
- Indonesia: The growth in cases in Indonesia has slowed a bit since February, but the government expects a spike following the post-Eid travel throughout the country. Indonesia is now reporting 1,831,773 total cases, up from 1,797,499 last week. It is reporting 50,908 total deaths, up from 49,907 the previous week. Indonesia accounts for close to two-thirds of total deaths in ASEAN since the start of the pandemic.
- Philippines: The Philippines is now reporting 1,247,899 total cases, up from 1,200,430 last week. Total reported deaths have increased from 20,379 to 21,357 over that time. President Duterte extended the COVID-19 general lockdown in Manila and nearby provinces until mid-June.
- Cambodia: Phnom Penh recently lifted its stringent three-week lockdown, despite the continued growth in COVID-19 cases. Reported cases have increased to 31,460, up from 26,989 over the past week and reported deaths grew from 190 to 230 over that period.
- Vietnam: The outbreak of new cases in Vietnam is centered around industrial parks in the north and south of the country, creating potential supply chain disruptions as officials weigh the possibility of temporarily shutting down factories. Cases of COVID-19 infection grew from 6,086 to 7,870 over the past week. The total number of deaths grew from 45 to 49.
- Singapore: After months of COVID-19 control, Singapore has seen the emergence of a number of active clusters of cases in recent weeks. However, the growth in cases was small, increasing from 61,916 to 62,100 over the past week. The total number of deaths grew from 32 to 33.
- Laos: Laos has reported a continued growth in total cases from 1,883 to 1,934 over the past week. It reported its third death from COVID last week.
Vaccinations
- Indonesia is currently in the second stage of vaccinations following the vaccination of medical workers in the first stage. It is administering the Sinovac and AstraZeneca vaccines.
- Indonesia has secured orders for 600 million doses of vaccine from four producers. This includes between 13.7 million and 23.1 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine through the COVAX system. The vaccines will arrive in two phases: 25-35% of doses in Q1 2021, and 65-75% in Q2. The Ministry of Health said this vaccine can be used for those who are over 60, unlike the Sinovac vaccine, currently in use in Indonesia. President Jokowi has set a target of finishing the vaccination process within this year.
- Malaysia approved both AstraZeneca and Sinovac vaccines for emergency use on March 2. Mass vaccinations began on February 24 using the Pfizer vaccine and the government aims to vaccinate 80% of its 32 million population by next February. So far, it has fully vaccinated less than 3% of its population.
- Malaysia has agreed to buy 25 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine. It has also signed agreements for 18.4 million doses of vaccines produced by Russia's Gamaleya Research Institute and China's Sinovac.
- The Philippines began its immunization program after receiving its first batch of the COVID-19 vaccine (600,00 doses of Sinovac Biotech's CoronaVac, donated by China). It is due to receive another 25 million doses of CoronaVac this year.
- However, there is little public support for the inoculation drive. Polls show that fewer than one third of Filipinos are willing to be vaccinated due to fears of the potential side effects.
- Singapore began its vaccination program in January with seniors aged 70 and above and more than 50,000 active taxi and private-hire car drivers eligible for the shot. Those aged 60 and above became eligible at the end of March. About 31% of Singapore’s population is fully vaccinated, by far the highest percentage in ASEAN. The government announced that it will increase the spacing of vaccines to 6-8 weeks in order to allow more people to receive a first shot sooner.
- Thailand's COVID-19 vaccination program began on March 1. Only 1.5% of its citizens have been vaccinated so far. Thailand has granted emergency use authorization for the Johnson & Johnson, Moderna, AstraZeneca, and Sinovac vaccines, although only the latter two are actually available. Thailand announced it is on track to receive six million AstraZeneca vaccine doses this month.
- Thailand's Food and Drug Administration has approved Siam Bioscience as a manufacturing facility for the COVID-19 AstraZeneca vaccine. Thailand plans to export the vaccines to eight Southeast Asian countries.
- Vietnam received its first batch of vaccines (117,000 doses from AstraZeneca) in late February. It has fully vaccinated less than 1% of its population to date. It aims to obtain 90 million COVID-19 vaccine doses this year, including 30 million through COVAX, 30 million from AstraZeneca, and the rest from ongoing negotiations with Pfizer and Russia's Sputnik V vaccine. Meanwhile, a Vietnamese pharmaceutical company has begun second phase trials on a coronavirus vaccine. Vietnamese President Phuc sent a letter to President Biden "asking the United States to assist Viet Nam to access the 80 million doses of vaccines that the United States has pledged to provide other countries."
- Cambodia has fully vaccinated over two million people, or 12% of the population, making it the second-highest country with total inoculation in Southeast Asia, after Singapore. All other ASEAN countries are in the low single digits.
Travel
- Singapore has suspended its Reciprocal Green Lane (RGL) arrangements with Malaysia, Germany, South Korea, and Brunei due to a resurgence of COVID-19 cases. The move does not affect Singapore’s Periodic Commuting Arrangement with Malaysia, which includes longer-term workers and business travel.
- Singapore and Hong Kong agreed to postpone their travel bubble that had been scheduled to start May 26 due to an outbreak of cases in Singapore. The two countries will release updated plans by June 13.
- Indonesia has closed its border to foreign nationals to mitigate the increased spread of COVID-19. The policy provides exemptions for holders of diplomatic visas and official visas related to foreign officials at the ministerial level, holders of limited stay permits, and permanent resident permits.
- As of April, Thailand reduced its mandatory quarantine from 14 to seven days for foreigners arriving in the country who have been vaccinated against the coronavirus. Vaccinations must be administered within three months of the travel period and visitors will still be required to show negative COVID-19 test results within three days of their departure. Those not yet inoculated but with coronavirus-free certificates would be quarantined for 10 days.
- Vietnam has temporarily restricted the entry of foreigners and overseas Vietnamese to focus on COVID-19 preventative measures. It has also increased the quarantine period for incoming travelers and close contacts of confirmed cases to 21 days.
- Staff Contact: Phil Agress (PAgress@AdvaMed.org)
Europe
- Positive trends are continuing in most of the larger European countries this week. Italy is notable in this regard, with around 1,000 fewer daily cases. France and Spain are also showing improvement. Total cases in Europe are for the most part down significantly from the previous week. The UK continues to have stalled in its recent positive trend, showing increased cases, but the rate of deaths from those cases so far remains low. The UK numbers overall, however, continue to compare favorably with Germany, France and Spain.
- Increases in new cases per day (New Daily Cases) tend to benchmark increasing COVID incidence. We’ve put the new daily case numbers in the chart below so you can see the numbers in comparison. Here are the current figures with prior week figures in parentheses. France 8,743 (12,646); Spain 4,984 (5,007); Russia 8,832 (8,373; UK 4,330 (3,180), Italy 2,892 (3,837); Germany 5,096 (4,473); and Belgium 1,498 (855).
- In terms of total cases, see chart below for the specific numbers. France remains in the lead followed by Russia, the UK, Italy, Germany, Spain, Poland and Ukraine. Czech Republic and the Netherlands round out the top 10 countries with the largest number of total cases in Europe.
- In terms of cases per million in Europe, Czech Republic remains 3rd highest in Europe with 154,857, but the rate of increase appears to be slowing. Sweden is 8th with 106,033. France is 14th with 86,932, Belgium 12th at 91,397. Spain is 20th with 78,846. Italy is 26th with 69,944, and the UK is 28th with 65,891.
- Russia's reported numbers on COVID remain problematic at 5,090,249 and are second only to France in Europe. Russia reports one of the lowest death rates in the world at just 837 per million. By comparison, Germany, with approximately 1.3 million fewer cases, reports 89,.510 deaths and a death rate of 1,065 per million. Russia has authorized the one-shot Sputnik Light version of its Covid vaccine for use.
|
|