Global coronavirus cases surpass 40M

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - The number of novel coronavirus cases in the world has surpassed 40 million early Monday, according to Johns Hopkins University data.

More than 1.11 million people have lost their lives around the world from COVID-19 so far.

The US still leads the world in the number of COVID-19 cases with over 8.15 million, while deaths are at almost 220,000.

In India, more than 7.55 million people contracted the virus with a death toll of over 114,600. Brazil has more than 5.22 million cases and a death toll exceeding 153,600.

China, the birthplace of COVID-19, has close to 91,000 cases with 4,739 deaths.

The UK's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies said Sunday more than one coronavirus vaccine will be available at the beginning of 2021.

American pharmaceutical firm Pfizer said Friday it may know the effectiveness of its vaccine by the end of October, and it is planning to submit safety data on final dose of the vaccine to the US' Food and Drug Administration in the third week of November.

A vaccine candidate developed by the Beijing Institute of Biological Products, affiliated to the state-owned China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm), elicited antibody response in recipients, according to a study published Thursday in the Lancet Infectious Diseases journal.

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that a second coronavirus vaccine, EpiVakKorona, has been granted regulatory approval.

There are more than 170 vaccines around the world that are candidates for COVID-19 and tracked by the World Health Organization, but none has been approved for general use yet.