MORE THAN 8.95 BILLION COVID VACCINE SHOTS ADMINISTERED GLOBALLY

The biggest vaccination campaign in history is underway. More than 8.95 billion doses have been administered across 184 countries, according to data collected by Bloomberg. The latest rate was roughly 43.4 million doses a day.

In the U.S., 500 million doses have been given so far. An average 1.26 million doses per day were administered over the last week. More than 8.95 billion doses have been administered—116 shots for every 100 people worldwide.

In total, 116 doses have been given for every 100 people around the world—but the distribution has been lopsided. Countries and regions with the highest incomes are getting vaccinated more than 10 times faster than those with the lowest.

When will life return to normal?

While the best vaccines are highly effective at preventing hospitalization and death, it takes a coordinated campaign to stop a pandemic. Infectious-disease experts have said that vaccinating 70% to 85% of the U.S. population would enable a return to normalcy, but boosters may be required to keep the disease in check.

On a global scale, that’s a daunting level of vaccination. At the current pace of 9.06 million people getting their first shots each day, the goal of halting the pandemic remains elusive. Manufacturing capacity, however, is increasing, thanks to new vaccines and added capacity from existing drugmakers.

The Path to Immunity Around the World

Globally, the latest vaccination rate is 43,445,320 doses per day, which includes 9,060,715 people people getting their first shot. At this pace, it will take another 5 months until 75% of the population has received at least one dose.

‘Pandemic of the Unvaccinated’

Israel was first to show that vaccines were bending the curve of Covid infections. The country led the world in early vaccinations, and by February more than 84% of people ages 70 and older had received two doses. Covid cases declined rapidly, and a similar pattern of vaccination and recovery repeated across dozens of other countries.

This progress is under threat. New strains, led by the highly transmissible delta variant, caused renewed outbreaks. Israel saw another surge of cases, which it brought under control by offering boosters to all vaccinated people. Worldwide, unvaccinated people are more at risk than ever, leading U.S. health officials to dub it a “pandemic of the unvaccinated.”

Even among those who are vaccinated, the delta variant may lead to mild cases, and those who get sick are able to spread the disease to others, according to the latest data. The vaccines remain effective at reducing hospitalizations and deaths.

Vaccines have helped reduce case numbers in the places where they’ve been deployed most widely. Currently, 38 places have given at least one dose to 75% of the population.