Washington: As of Friday morning, the total number of cases stood at 36,435,290 and the fatalities increased to 1,060,869, the University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) revealed in its latest update.
The US is the worst-hit country with the world’s highest number of cases and deaths at 7,603,746 and 212,716, respectively, according to the CSSE.
India comes in second place in terms of cases at 6,835,655, while the country’s death toll soared to 105,526.
The other top 15 countries with the maximum amount of cases are Brazil (5,028,444), Russia (1,253,603), Colombia (886,179), Argentina (856,369), Spain (848,324), Peru (835,662), Mexico (804,488), France (711,704), South Africa (686,891), the UK (564,502), Iran (488,236), Chile (476,016), Iraq (394,566), Bangladesh (374,592), and Italy (338,398), the CSSE figures showed.
Brazil currently accounts for the second highest number of fatalities at 148,957.
The countries with a death toll above 10,000 are Mexico (83,096), the UK (42,682), Italy (36,083), Peru (33,009), Spain (32,688), France (32,539), Iran (27,888), Colombia (27,180), Argentina (22,710), Russia (21,939), South Africa (17,408), Chile (13,167), Ecuador (12,141), Indonesia (11,580) and Belgium (10,108).
Meanwhile, US Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said, ‘ The US could have enough coronavirus vaccine doses for every American by March 2021’.
Azar made the remarks on Thursday while addressing a keynote speech at the Goldman Sachs Healthcare virtual event, reports CNBC News.
According to the top official, ‘Operation Warp Speed’, the administration’s Covid-19 vaccine program, expects to have up to 100 million doses by the end of the year.
That’s “enough to cover especially vulnerable populations” he said, adding: “We project having enough for every American who wants a vaccine by March to April 2021.”
Azar said that the country was currently manufacturing doses for all six potential vaccines backed by President Donald Trump’s government across more than 23 manufacturing facilities.
These includes vaccines from Moderna, Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson, which are all in late-stage testing.
According to the Health and Human Services Secretary, the US is also obtaining needles, syringes, bottles and other supplies needed for immunizations.
US health officials believe authorizing a vaccine for emergency use is appropriate in only specific circumstances, where there are sufficient amounts of vaccine already manufactured , CNBC News quoted Azar as further saying.
Azar’s remarks follows a sweeping plan unveiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) last month to make Covid-19 vaccines available to all Americans for free.
Under the plan, the CDC anticipates a coronavirus vaccine will initially be granted an emergency use authorization before a full formal approval.
The US continues to lead the world with the highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths.