Coronavirus: Latest Global Developments

Paris, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 15th Jun, 2021 ) :Here are the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis: - US toll tops 600,000 - The US death toll from the Covid-19 pandemic surpasses 600,000, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University, with President Joe Biden mourning the latest "sad milestone" and urging Americans to press on with vaccinations.

- New York lifts curbs - More than 70 percent of adults in New York have received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine, meaning the last of the state's restrictions can now be lifted, Governor Andrew Cuomo announces.

- AstraZeneca snag - Covid-19 vaccine maker AstraZeneca reveals it has hit a setback in phase 3 clinical trials of a drug for coronavirus symptoms.

Treatment AZD7442 reduced the risk of developing symptoms by only 33 percent -- which was "not statistically significant", it says.

- French jabs for adolescents - France expands its Covid-19 inoculation drive to children aged 12 and over in a bid to achieve herd immunity and slow the spread of variants, including the Delta strain.

- EMA denial - The European Medicines Agency denies that a top official had suggested dropping the AstraZeneca Covid vaccine, saying that he had been misinterpreted in an interview and believed its benefits outweighed its risks.

Marco Cavaleri, the EMA's head of vaccine strategy, was quoted by Italian newspaper La Stampa on Sunday as saying it could be worth dropping AstraZeneca including for the over-60s in favour of rivals like Pfizer and Moderna.

- Olympics rule warning - Athletes could be kicked out of the Tokyo Olympics if they violate virus rules including daily testing and mask-wearing under updated guidelines just over five weeks before the opening ceremony.

- 3.8 million dead - The pandemic has killed at least 3,813,994 people worldwide since the virus first emerged in December 2019, according to an AFP compilation of official data.

The US is the worst-affected country with more than 600,000 deaths, followed according to figures at 1000 GMT by Brazil with 488,228, India with 377,031, Mexico with 230,187, Peru with 188,921 and the United Kingdom with 127,907.

The figures are based on reports by health authorities in each country, but do not take into account upward revisions carried out later by statistical bodies.

The WHO says up to three times more people have died directly or indirectly due to the pandemic than official figures suggest.