COVID-19 Death Toll Hits 4 Million Worldwide as Delta Variant Spreads in Various Countries

The COVID-19 continued to wreak havoc as the global death toll related to the deadly disease topped four million on Wednesday, July 7.

According to the Peace Research Institute Oslo, the compiled number of deaths recorded by Johns Hopkins University was about equal to the number of individuals killed in all of the world's wars since 1982, Associated Press reported.

COVID-19 Vaccine Race and Death Toll

The report described COVID's death toll globally to equal the population of Los Angeles and Georgia. As of midnight of July 8, Johns Hopkins University's data showed that there were at least 4,001,920 deaths related to COVID globally. However, the Associated Press reported that the number was widely believed to be an "undercount" due to deliberate concealment or overlooked cases.

The Johns Hopkins University data also revealed that the United States had the highest number of deaths globally, totaling 606,218. Brazil follows the U.S. with its death toll of 528,540. India placed third with 405,028 deaths.

Despite the increase in the number of deaths globally, New York Post reported that deaths per day dropped to nearly 7,900 from a high of over 18,000 a day in January due to the vaccine rollout.

However, the vaccination drive globally was still uneven as the world's poorest corners are facing vaccine shortages, such as in Africa. Globally, Johns Hopkins University revealed that more than three billion vaccine doses were administered around the world.

Delta COVID Variant Poses Challenges

The vaccine shortage is not the only challenge the world faces, as the Delta COVID variant began wreaking havoc in a different part of the globe. The Delta variant, first identified in India, was able to infect individuals even in countries with high vaccination rates.

Top immunization official from the World Health Organization (WHO), Ann Lindstrand, said the relaxation of precautions, lack of access to vaccines, and the variants such as Delta, are a "toxic combination" that is very dangerous for the people.

The WHO earlier warned the world leaders and public health officials about the Delta COVID variant, emphasizing the role of vaccines in protecting the people against the variant that is known to be more transmissible with claims of "more severe symptoms."

This week, Britain reported 30,000 new COVID cases for the first time since January. However, it was not clear whether the Delta variant caused those infections.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed that the Delta variant represented 51.7 percent of new COVID cases in the country, making it more dominant than the Alpha variant with 28.7 percent of the country's new cases.

In response to the emergence of the Delta COVID variant, other countries have reimposed their preventive measures, and authorities are rushing to step up and quicken the vaccine rollouts, Associated Press reported.

However, Lindstrand noted that officials need to realize that it is a "worldwide problem that needs worldwide solutions."

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Written by: Joshua Summers

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