‘Full blown third wave’ in African countries

With about 45% of the U.S. population fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and cases declining in a majority of states, Americans across the country gathered with family and friends over the weekend to mark the Juneteenth federal holiday.

But across the globe, it’s not such a rosy picture. Nearly 85% of all COVID-19 vaccine doses globally have been administered in high- and uppermiddle-income countries, according to the World Health Organization.

Less than 1% of Africa’s population is fully vaccinated, and the continent is seeing a surge of cases, according to the WHO. Twenty-two African countries saw cases rise by over 20% last week, and several nations reported their highest number of new weekly cases since the pandemic began.

“Africa is in the midst of a full blown third wave. The sobering trajectory of surging cases should rouse everyone into urgent action,” Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa, said in a statement. “We’ve seen in India and elsewhere just how quickly COVID-19 can rebound and overwhelm health systems. So public health measures must be scaled up fast to find, test, isolate and care for patients and to quickly trace their contacts.”

The highly contagious delta variant has been reported in 14 African countries. President Joe Biden and the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday warned the variant could pose a new public health threat in the U.S.

The U.S. has had more than 33.5 million confirmed coronavirus cases and at least 601,700 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data. The global totals: More than 178 million cases and more than

3.86 million deaths. More than 149 million Americans have been fully vaccinated – nearly 45% of the population, according to the CDC.

Protesters decry Brazil policies as death toll tops 500K

Anti-government protesters took to the streets in cities across Brazil Saturday as the nation’s confirmed death toll from COVID-19 soared past half a million. It’s a tragedy many critics blame on President Jair Bolsonaro’s attempt to minimize the disease.

Thousands gathered in Rio de Janeiro, waving flags reading “Get out Bolsonaro.” Other marchers hoisted posters reading: “500 thousand deaths. It’s his fault.” Similar marches took place in at least 22 of Brazil’s 26 states.

Critics Bolsonaro’s message that lockdown measures have hurt businesses, as well as his promotion of disproven treatments such as hydroxychloroquine, have contributed to the soaring death toll and a sluggish vaccine campaign that has fully inoculated less than 12% of the population. The country of about 213 million people is registering nearly 100,000 new infections and 2,000 deaths a day.