Covid-19: Global vaccination tally passes confirmed cases
The number of global Covid-19 vaccinations has surpassed the tally of confirmed cases for the first time, marking a landmark moment in efforts to fight the virus.
The total number of jabs administered reached 104m today, while the number of confirmed cases was just over 103m, according to the Financial Times vaccine tracker.
With lockdown measures in place in many parts of the world and countries ramping up their vaccination efforts, the rise in Covid-19 cases has begun to slow.
The tracker figures are incomplete due to the fragmented nature of reporting, while the true number of infections is likely to be many times higher than the total verified by tests.
Scientists have also raised concerns about mutant variants of the virus that could be resistant to the vaccine.
However, the data underlines the progress made in rolling out jabs to help protect the most vulnerable people in society.
“The fact that we have so many vaccines is a huge good news story which has been fed to us in bits and pieces,” Michael Head, global health research fellow at Southampton university, told the FT. “This moment brings it together, showing how fast we have moved and far we have come.”
While declining case numbers have largely been attributed to lockdown restrictions, there are growing hopes that vaccines could help to slow the spread of the virus.
A report published yesterday by the University of Oxford revealed its vaccine, developed with Astrazeneca, could cut the transmission of infections by two-thirds.
Astrazeneca today also said it is aiming to roll out a “next generation” Covid-19 vaccine especially suited to new mutations of the virus by the autumn.