The US remained the worst-hit country, with 406,001 deaths and 24,432,829 cases.
In late 2020, the coronavirus pandemic entered its deadliest phase yet in the United States, according to an Associated Press (AP) report.
The U.S. death toll from the coronavirus surpassed 400,000 and the nation’s largest vaccination campaign in history encounters confusion and delays.
The U.S. is averaging about 201,000 new cases and about 3,000 deaths each day. The nation’s death toll since the start of the pandemic now stands at about 403,000.
Cities and states sought to scale up their vaccination operations, opening centers designed to inoculate thousands of people a day in a single location. Some of the sites offered drive-thru injections. In New York City, the centers were scheduled to be open around the clock, the AP report says.
Also Read: Bangladesh’s daily Covid-19 infection rate drops below 5%
The pandemic, which had been tamed in some places over the summer, came roaring back in the final months of last year.
In Brazil , death toll from Covid-19 stood at 212,831 with 8,638, 249 cases as of Thursday.
India’s total caseload reached 10,595,660 while the death toll surpassed 152,718 until Thursday.
Situation in Bangladesh
Bangladesh saw a daily infection rate of 4.26% with 656 new cases reported until early Wednesday.
The country recorded a daily infection rate of 5.49% on January 18, 4.90% on January 14, 8.29% on January 10, 7.52% on January 4, and 8.18% on January 1.
Bangladesh has recorded 529,687 cases so far. And the country’s fatality number rose to 7,950 and death rate to 1.50%, with 8 Covid-19 deaths in the last 24 hours, since the first fatality was reported on March 18.
So far, 3,500,667 tests, including 15,410 new ones, have been carried out. The overall infection rate stood at 15.13%, the Directorate General of Health Services said.
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However, 474,472 patients – 89.58% – have recovered so far.
The country’s infection number reached the 500,000-mark on December 20. The first cases were reported on March 8. The death toll exceeded 7,000 on December 12.
Vaccine in Bangladesh
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Wednesday said there would be sufficient vaccines in the country with 35 lakh doses of Covishield coming from India on Thursday.
He said, “India is sending 20 lakh doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine made by Serum Institute of India as a gift while 15 lakh doses will come through private sector channels.”
“So, together we will get 35 lakh doses of vaccines on Thursday. There would be plenty of vaccines in the country. We can start the vaccination programme ahead of the schedule.”
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Asked whether Bangladesh will get vaccines as a gift from other countries, Dr Momen said he was not aware of it but more countries including Russia and China were interested in providing vaccines.
On January 18, Health Minister Zahid Maleque said Bangladesh would receive the first consignment of Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine during January 25-26.
On January 7, the government approved the emergency use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine.
The approval would allow Beximco Pharmaceuticals to bring doses from the Serum Institute of India, which is manufacturing the vaccine, Mohammad Salahuddin, deputy director of the DGDA, said.
Under the deal, Bangladesh will import 3 crore doses of SARS-Cov-2 AZD 1222 (Oxford-Astrazeneca vaccine) from Serum in the next six months.
Also Read: Covid-19 vaccine not a 'silver bullet': WHO
On December 28, Bangladeshi pharmaceutical company Globe Biotech got approval from the DGDA for manufacturing Covid-19 vaccine for clinical trials.
Dr Mohammad Mohiuddin, Manager of Globe Biotech Limited (Head of Quality Operation), said after completing the trials, they would start supplying vaccines following protocols.
“Hopefully, we will be able to begin clinical trials in January. It will take five months to finish. The vaccine will be available by June if we can begin the clinical trials this month.”