The COVID-19 pandemic is affecting over 200 countries and territories across the globe.
More than a year has passed since the COVID-19 pandemic began impacting millions of lives all over the world. While the measures and protocols remain in place, it appears that the battle is far from over.
Based on the data from the Worldometer, the number of cases has already reached more than 170 million. 91.5 percent of the total number already had an outcome, and nearly 98 percent recovered from the deadly virus.
The latest number of COVID-19 cases, deaths
The active COVID-19 cases have reached over 14.3 million, as of May 31, AEST. The publication noted that 99.4 percent of the number is “in mild condition,” while 0.6 percent is critical.
While the latest graphs from the same outlet show decreasing trends for both daily cases and deaths, the number remains significant. On May 30, the official tally for new transmissions totaled 491,261. As for the deaths on the said date, the figure reached 10,887 across the globe.
The United States remains on top of the list of countries with the highest number of total coronavirus cases. In the top five, India comes in second, while Brazil, France, and Turkey are in the third, fourth, and fifth, respectively.
Vaccination rate today
In previous months, especially in 2020, the only way to fight off COVID-19 is to follow strict restrictions and safety protocols. But, with the emergence of vaccines, the world is now trying to fight back through inoculation.
Bloomberg said that 1.84 billion doses have already been “administered” in over 176 countries, as per its live tracker. The most recent figure as of Monday, AEST, seemingly equates to a rate of roughly 31.5 million doses per day.
How the pandemic will likely end
As the rate of vaccination continues to increase, the hope for returning to normalcy becomes evident. This, then, seemingly causes many individuals to wonder when and how the pandemic will likely end.
Buzzfeed asserted that there are four possible outcomes, particularly in the United States. The best-case scenario would be life going back “close to normal” after citizens obtained vaccinations.
As for the more “realistic” potential outcome, it would reportedly be “defanging” the virus, instead of defeating it. This means that there might be outbreaks, especially among unvaccinated individuals.
The third possible end result is said to be a “fourth surge” come summer season. This may reportedly likely happen if the country falls behind on vaccinations.
As for the worst-case scenario, new and much riskier COVID-19 variants would emerge, and overcome the existing vaccines. If this occurs, then it would likely “restart the global pandemic all over again.”
Images courtesy of World Health Organization (WHO)/YouTube