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Global cases exceed 25.43m

September 01, 2020 00:00:00


The confirmed coronavirus cases across the world surged past 25.43 million Monday morning, according to latest tally provided by www.worldometers.info.

The data shows a total of 25,436,961 people have so far been diagnosed with the virus in 213 countries while the global total death toll from the virus reached 851,350, report agencies.

Meanwhile, more than 17.75 million people have recovered from the virus infections, reveals the data.

The United States crossed six million coronavirus cases on Monday, nearly a quarter of the planet's total, as nations around the world battle to contain the raging pandemic.

The United States retained its position as the worst hit country from the virus with 6,176,105 confirmed cases and 187,236 deaths.

The US is followed by Brazil that recorded 3,862,311 confirmed cases and 120,828 deaths so far.

India reported 78,512 novel coronavirus infections on Monday, more than any other country but fewer than the previous day when it posted the world's biggest, single-day tally, as authorities looked to open more sectors of the economy.

On Sunday, India's total of 78,761 new cases exceeded the previous global record of 77,299 in the United States on July 16, a Reuters tally of official data showed.

The world's second-most populous country has been posting the highest single-day caseload in the world since Aug. 7. At 3.62 million  cases, India is fast catching up to the United States and Brazil in terms of total cases but it has a lower death rate.

India's coronavirus deaths went up by 971 in the past 24 hours, taking the tally to 64,469, the health ministry said.

The huge numbers have got authorities worried, especially with people in rural areas largely abandoning rules aimed at stopping the spread, officials say.

The US hit five million cases three weeks ago, just 17 days after reaching four million, the tracker said.

Meanwhile another report adds: High-profile COVID-19 vaccines developed in Russia and China share a potential shortcoming: They are based on a common cold virus that many people have been exposed to, potentially limiting their effectiveness, some experts say.

CanSino Biologics' vaccine, approved for military use in China, is a modified form of adenovirus type 5, or Ad5. The company is in talks to get emergency approval in several countries before completing large-scale trials, the Wall Street Journal reported last week.

A vaccine developed by Moscow's Gamaleya Institute, approved in Russia earlier this month despite limited testing, is based on Ad5 and a second less common adenovirus.

"The Ad5 concerns me just because a lot of people have immunity," said Anna Durbin, a vaccine researcher at Johns Hopkins University. "I'm not sure what their strategy is ... maybe it won't have 70% efficacy. It might have 40% efficacy, and that's better than nothing, until something else comes along."

Vaccines are seen as essential to ending the pandemic that has claimed over 845,000 lives worldwide. Gamaleya has said its two-virus approach will address Ad5 immunity issues.

Both developers have years of experience and approved Ebola vaccines based on Ad5. Neither CanSino nor Gamaleya responded to requests for comment.

Researchers have experimented with Ad5-based vaccines against a variety of infections for decades, but none are widely used. They employ harmless viruses as "vectors" to ferry genes from the target virus - in this case the novel coronavirus - into human cells, prompting an immune response to fight the actual virus.

But many people already have antibodies against Ad5, which could cause the immune system to attack the vector instead of responding to the coronavirus, making these vaccines less effective.

Several researchers have chosen alternative adenoviruses or delivery mechanisms. Oxford University and AstraZeneca based their COVID-19 vaccine on a chimpanzee adenovirus, avoiding the Ad5 issue. Johnson & Johnson's candidate uses Ad26, a comparatively rare strain.


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