Killian Meara

This article was originally published in ContagionLive.

China has officially passed the 1 billion dose mark for 

 vaccinations administered, becoming 1 of the world’s fastest inoculation efforts.

Despite the high number of doses given out, the country is still remaining very strict with its elimination efforts.

The borders are still mostly closed off to international travel, and social distancing measures are still being strongly enforced in some areas.

China has also been offering millions of its vaccines to other countries, but many places, like Brazil, are refusing the shot in hopes of getting Pfizer or Moderna’s vaccine.

In Cuba, officials are reporting that their homegrown COVID-19 vaccine, Soberana 2, is showing promising results.

On Saturday, results from a late-phase trial were reported, showing the vaccine to be 62% effective with 2 out of its 3 recommended doses.

The country has shunned foreign-made vaccines, putting all of their hopes in their own. Cuba has partnered with Iran, which has also boycotted foreign made vaccines.

The Philippines has recently agreed to purchase 40 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which will provide a significant boost to the country which has been struggling with infections.

The order is set to be delivered through the third and fourth quarter of 2020.

Since the start of the pandemic, the Philippines has seen over 1.35 millions COVID-19 infections, with 23,500 deaths.

Data Table per Our World in Data (June 20, 2021, 12 AM EST)

In the United States, Rochelle Walensky, the director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, warned on Friday that the Delta variant is soon likely to become the dominant strain in the country. The more transmissible variant is likely to spread throughout the unvaccinated population.

Data Table per CDC COVID-19 Tracker (June 20, 2021, 6 AM EST)

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 Delta variant, which originated in India, sweeps through the UK, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a delay in the country’s reopening.

England was posed to remove all of the remaining restrictions on June 21, but as cases are on the rise, public health experts are warning that the new variant may pose a significant risk.

The decision comes out of an abundance of caution, due to the Delta variant having been reported to be more transmissible than the strain that swept across the country over the winter.

In Thailand, delays in a mass inoculation effort continue amid one of the worst outbreaks of COVID-19 the country has seen since the start of the pandemic.

Health officials had initially planned to have 70% of the population vaccinated by the end of the year, but a week after the program was supposed to begin, many people have had their appointments cancelled. As of Monday, only about 3% of Thailand has been fully vaccinated.

In Italy, the government recently announced that it was restricting the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine to only those people over the age of 60. The decision comes after an 18 year old passed away after receiving the shot in late May.

VAX WORLD

Data Table per Our World in Data (June 13, 2021, 12 AM EST)

In the United States, California will fully reopen its economy and take away most social distancing rules on Tuesday, as the state has now administered 40 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines.

VAX US

Data Table per CDC COVID-19 Tracker (June 13, 2021, 6 AM EST)

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 vaccination drive, providing doses for free to all states for individuals 18 and older.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on June 7 the program will begin on June 21 and all vaccine doses will be procured by the country’s federal government.

The program originally began on May 1, with the responsibility falling to the individual states. However, many states faced challenges because of a shortage of supplies. The hope is that a more centralized program will aid in the inoculation efforts.

In Germany, the government’s health ministry recently announced that all age groups eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine can now get 1.

Additionally, individuals aged 12 years and older can now get the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. Germany has so far administered 55 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines.

In the UK, more than half of the adult population has now received 2 doses of a COVID-19 vaccine.

Since the start of the inoculation efforts, a total of 26,422,303 second doses have been administered. The government has also announced that a first dose will be offered to all adults by the end of July.

Vax World

Data Table per Our World in Data (June 6, 2021, 12 AM EST)

In the US, despite more than half of the adult population having received at least 1 dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, the country may not meet President Joseph Biden’s goal of 70% by July 4. Vaccination rates have been continually dropping, with just around 1% of adults a week receiving their first dose, the lowest since mid-February.

Vax US

Data Table per CDC COVID-19 Tracker (June 6, 2021, 6 AM EST)

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The US is expected to fall just short of the goal of having 70% of adults vaccinated by July 4. 

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Moderna is moving forward with plans to apply for full approval for individuals 18 and up from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for their COVID-19 vaccine.

The company has stated that it will be submitting trial data to the FDA on a rolling basis over the coming weeks. Moderna is seeking a priority review, which would give the FDA 6 months to take action on the approval. This comes after Pfizer announced last month that they have also begun the process of seeking full FDA approval for their COVID-19 vaccine.

Canada is set to receive 2.9 million doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine after the company announced they would increase their deliveries. For the month of May, Canada was receiving weekly deliveries of about 2 millions doses. Additional does of both Moderna and AstraZeneca vaccines are also expected, while expected doses of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine remain unclear. As of Sunday, Canada has reported 23 million doses administered, with around half of the population having received at least 1 shot.

After several issues have held up inoculation efforts in Venezuela, the campaign finally began again over this past weekend. To date, only around 1.1% of the population has received a dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. Around 1,000 people are expected to receive their first dose by end of day Monday.

Data Table per Our World in Data (May 30, 2021, 12 AM EST)

Despite a slowing in vaccination rates, the US is slowly getting closer to President Biden's goal of having 70% of the adult population receive at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by July 4. As of Sunday, 62% of the adult population has gotten at least one shot and states all over the country are lifting their restrictions.

Data Table per CDC COVID-19 Tracker (May 24, 2021, 6 AM EST)

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The US is closing in on the goal of having 70% of adults vaccinated by July 4.