The situation remains dire as the world enters its 18th month of the global coronavirus pandemic. Earlier this week, WHO officials predicted that Europe may see an additional 236,000 deaths due to the virus by Dec. 1. Anthony Fauci, director of America’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, meanwhile warned the U.S. may lose another 100,000 lives to COVID by the end of the year. The populations in these parts of the world have enjoyed robust access to vaccines, and it makes the picture all the more grim for the places that haven’t.
As of Sept. 1, just 27% of the world’s population has been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 according to Our World in Data, which collects information from local governments. (And 39.6% of the global population had received at least one shot—compared to 25.6% a month and a half ago.) In total, 5.43 billion COVID shots have been administered globally, at a current rate of about 40.5 million per day.
Distribution of those vaccines has been far from equal. Just 1.8% of people living in low-income countries have received at least one dose of a COVID vaccine. At the high end are countries including Singapore, where more than 75.2% of its citizens are fully vaccinated, the United Arab Emirates (74.2%), Portugal, (73.9%), and Chile (71.1%). Countries at the low end include Egypt, with 3% of its population fully vaccinated, as well as Vietnam (2.7%), Kenya (1.5%), Afghanistan (1.1%), and Nigeria (0.7%). Adding urgency to this picture is the potential for still more infectious coronavirus strains, such as another new variant recently identified in South Africa.
In the U.S., where new cases and hospitalizations due to the virus (and particularly the highly contagious Delta variant) have been surging for weeks, 52.6% of the population, or 174.6 million Americans, are fully vaccinated according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For the population that is eligible for the vaccine (12 years and older), the rate is 61.5%.
While some vaccinated individuals are among those infected with COVID, the CDC recently found that unvaccinated individuals are five times more likely to be infected with COVID, and 29 times more likely to be hospitalized due to the virus. Currently, coronavirus infection rates are highest in states in America’s Southeast, where vaccination rates are relatively low, including Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, and South Carolina.
Meanwhile, new cases—America is averaging roughly 160,000 of them per day, up 14% over two weeks ago—have increased the most in North Dakota and West Virginia, where the 14-day change in new cases is 97% and 114% respectively. Nebraska, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and South Dakota have all seen increases of more than 60% over two weeks ago.
While cases levels remain very high in states like Louisiana, Mississippi, and Florida, the average number of new cases reported daily has begun to fall. In Louisiana, they’re down 40% from two weeks ago.
More health care and Big Pharma coverage from Fortune:
- You may need to wear a different mask on your next flight
- New COVID variant “Mu” added to WHO’s watchlist
- The WHO’s new Berlin research hub aims to spot the next pandemic in the making
- Over half of employers plan to have vaccine mandates by the end of the year
- Commentary: COVID outcomes in Florida and Connecticut show that leadership matters
Our mission to make business better is fueled by readers like you. To enjoy unlimited access to our journalism, subscribe today.
