The COVID-19 cases crossed the 200 million mark globally on Wednesday, as per a Reuters tally, while the highly transmissible Delta variant continues to affect areas with low vaccination rates.

The rise in coronavirus cases across the world points to the increasing gap in vaccination rates between the affluent and the poor countries. The number of infections is surging in around one-third of the countries globally. Several of these countries have not administered a first vaccine dose even to half of their population. The virus has infected at least 2.6% of the world′s population since the onset of the pandemic, while the actual number is likely to be higher on account of limited testing in many places.

While it took more than a year for the cases to reach the 100 million figure, the next 100 million were added in a little over six months, suggested the analysis. Around 4.4 million people have lost their lives due to COVID-19… (Reuters, August 4, 2021)