Deaths in US from COVID-19 hit 600,000: Johns Hopkins

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - The total number of people who lost their lives due to the novel coronavirus in the US has surpassed 600,000, according to data from Maryland's Johns Hopkins University on Tuesday.

Since the start of the pandemic, 600,012 individuals died in the US, the country having the worst record in the world. The US is also on top with almost 33.5 million cases, the data showed.

It was followed by India with over 29.5 million infections and Brazil more than 17.4 million. Those two countries exceeded 377,000 and 488,000 deaths, respectively.

The data also showed almost 2.4 billion vaccine doses have been administered worldwide.

In the US, Novavax said Monday its COVID-19 vaccine has an overall efficacy of 90.4% against the coronavirus. The firm has joined other American pharmaceuticals -- Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson -- that provide vaccines for the population.

More than 374 million doses have been distributed in the US with over 310 million administered as of early Monday. So far, 144.9 million people, or 43.7% of the population, have received two doses, according to figures from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).