(VOVWORLD) - More than 209 million COVID-19 patients had been reported globally as of Wednesday noon, and 4.4 million of them have died, according to worldometers.info.
 People in California get vaccinated. (Photo: AFP/VNA) |
The US is the hardest-hit country, with 37.9 million infections and 640,000 deaths, followed by India and Brazil.
Countries are hoping vaccination will defeat the highly contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus, which is spreading fast and driving new cases and hospitalizations. The US is expected to recommend that Americans get a booster shot eight months after their second dose of COVID-19 vaccine. Full approval of the emergency-use vaccines is expected in mid- to late September, according to health officials.
Uruguayans on Tuesday began receiving a booster dose of Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine after getting two shots of CoronaVac, produced by Sinovac Biotech.
Japan has defined a three-pillar strategy to contain the pandemic: a resilient health sector, control of transmission, and vaccination.