The global COVID-19 pandemic has officially taken the lives of one million global citizens.
“One million is a terrible number,” Mike Ryan of the World Health Organization said.
“There is a lot that can be done to save lives.”
Unfortunately, the virus is showing no signs of dying off. Globally, confirmed cases are rising faster now than they have at any point this year. Nearly 250,000 people are testing positive for COVID-19 per day.
“With the Northern Hemisphere’s flu season approaching, and with cases and hospitalizations increasing, many countries find themselves struggling to strike the right balance between protecting public health, protecting personal liberty and protecting their economies,” World Health Organization Director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said last week.
The pandemic has hit the United States extremely hard. With 7.1 million confirmed cases, the U.S. leads the world in COVID-19 related deaths at 204,000 and counting. Gaining ground on the U.S., India seems poised to pass America in the coming weeks. In India, nearly 90,000 people are testing positive daily and 1,000 are dying per day. Close behind, Brazil, Mexico and Argentina are also reporting nearly 400 COVID-19 related deaths per day.
In response to the virus, a number of organizations have joined the race to find a vaccine. The World Health Organization is currently keeping track of 1,700 vaccine clinical trials. As a result, the organization has asked for $35 billion to speed up vaccine development. However, finding a vaccine won’t immediately solve the problem. Distributing the vaccine will prove to be a tough test.
“It’s going to take four to five years until everyone gets the vaccine on this planet,” Adar Poonawalla of the Serum Institute of India, the world’s largest vaccine producer, said.
