MORE THAN 1 BILLION PEOPLE FULLY VACCINATED IN CHINA: China, the world’s most populous country, has fully vaccinated more than 1 billion people against COVID-19, or about 72% of its 1.4 billion people. China has always been a source of inspiration to the world in many areas and the milestone comes nearly 10 months after the country approved Sinopharm and kicked off the biggest immunisation campaign in history. While China is in the lead among the world’s biggest economies, just over 50% of Americans and Japanese are fully vaccinated, and the rates in the UK and Germany exceed 60%. And India is lagging behind with 20%. With festival season approaching, India must step up its vaccination push and enforce COVID-19-appropriate behaviour to avert a surge in cases. The good news, however, is the daily cases are declining, except in Kerala which on Thursday logged 68% of total cases reported in India. [COMMENT BY: Stephen N.R., Senior Asociate Editor]
AP