China Hits 1 Billion COVID-19 Vaccines Administered

This article was originally published in ContagionLive.

China has officially passed the 1 billion dose mark for COVID-19 vaccinations administered, becoming 1 of the world’s fastest inoculation efforts.

Despite the high number of doses given out, the country is still remaining very strict with its elimination efforts.

The borders are still mostly closed off to international travel, and social distancing measures are still being strongly enforced in some areas.

China has also been offering millions of its vaccines to other countries, but many places, like Brazil, are refusing the shot in hopes of getting Pfizer or Moderna’s vaccine.

In Cuba, officials are reporting that their homegrown COVID-19 vaccine, Soberana 2, is showing promising results.

On Saturday, results from a late-phase trial were reported, showing the vaccine to be 62% effective with 2 out of its 3 recommended doses.

The country has shunned foreign-made vaccines, putting all of their hopes in their own. Cuba has partnered with Iran, which has also boycotted foreign made vaccines.

The Philippines has recently agreed to purchase 40 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which will provide a significant boost to the country which has been struggling with infections.

The order is set to be delivered through the third and fourth quarter of 2020.

Since the start of the pandemic, the Philippines has seen over 1.35 millions COVID-19 infections, with 23,500 deaths.

Data Table per Our World in Data (June 20, 2021, 12 AM EST)

In the United States, Rochelle Walensky, the director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, warned on Friday that the Delta variant is soon likely to become the dominant strain in the country. The more transmissible variant is likely to spread throughout the unvaccinated population.

Data Table per CDC COVID-19 Tracker (June 20, 2021, 6 AM EST)

For more information on COVID-19 vaccination research, distribution, and assessment, check out some of these recent Contagion stories:

Emergency Use Authorization vs. Full Approval: What are the Implications?

Update on CureVac COVID-19 Vaccine Phase 2b/3 Trial

What Role Will Novavax’s Vaccine Play in the Global COVID-19 Effort?