(Reuters) – Global coronavirus infections passed the 75 million mark on Saturday, according to a Reuters count, as several countries around the world begin to vaccinate against the virus.
Britain became the first Western country to vaccinate with the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and its German partner BioNtech this month, followed by the United States, which has now also approved a vaccine from Moderna.
There have been 18.65 million new cases in the last month, the highest number in a 30-day period since the start of the pandemic.
Europe remains the region with the most cases – 21.6 million cases – followed by North America at 17.9 million, Latin America at 14.5 million, and Asia at 13 million.
In Europe, one million new cases were registered in just five days, with Russia and France reporting more than 2 million cases since the coronavirus outbreak. The United Kingdom and Italy each have about 1.9 million cases.
The United States was the first country in the world to kill more than 300,000 people on Monday. According to a Reuters analysis of data from the past seven days, the country reports more than 2,500 deaths every day.
Hospitals in the United States have begun to deliver the first shots of the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine.
The United States remains the country with the most cases – more than 17 million since the outbreak began – followed by India and Brazil, respectively. With only 4% of the world’s population, the United States accounts for about 23% of all cases worldwide.
Brazil recorded a one-day record of 70,000 new cases on Wednesday, joining the United States and India as the only countries to report more than 7 million infections in total. With nearly 180,000 confirmed fatalities, the South American nation has the second highest death toll in the world.
On Saturday, there were more than 10 million coronavirus infections in India. India is preparing to deliver 600 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to the most vulnerable people over the next six to eight months.
Reporting by Kavya B, Roshan Abraham and Chaithra J in Bengaluru; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Christina Fincher