Image courtesy of WikiMedia Commons
By Sophie Soloway ’23
Global Editor
There had been 132,775,013 cumulative cases of the COVID-19 virus across the world as of April 7, 2021. The United States continues to lead this number with 30,907,352 confirmed cases — the highest in the entire world. As vaccinations become more accessible and cases continue to rise, inequities in treatment and testing continue to exacerbate the health crisis.
Brazil and India follow the U.S. with the highest number of cases in the world, each having about 13 million cumulative cases as of April 7. Both countries are countering these rates with vaccination rollout. India has the third-highest number of doses given; 0.8 percent of the country is fully vaccinated. Brazil is currently increasing its rollout, with over 2 percent of the country having already received the vaccine.
The U.S. currently has the greatest number of vaccinations administered in the world, with over 60 million citizens — approximately 18.7 percent of the population — already vaccinated. Mainland China follows, with 145,920,000 doses administered. There is little data available to detail how many Chinese citizens have been fully vaccinated.
An estimated 4.6 percent of the world is currently vaccinated. Unequal access to vaccinations on a global scale has blocked several countries from administering any vaccinations to their citizens. Some international health organizations — like COVAX, which has set a goal to vaccinate one-fifth of select populations — have begun to purchase and administer vaccines in an attempt to counter this inequality.