The global tally for the coronavirus-borne illness climbed to 164.9 million on Thursday, according to data aggregated by Johns Hopkins University, while the death toll rose topped 3.4 million. The U.S. continues to lead the world in total cases with 33 million and deaths with 587,874, although cases, hospitalizations and deaths are all falling as more Americans become vaccinated. The CEO of drug contractor Emergent BioSolutions Inc. said Wednesday it has made enough of a key ingredient to yield more than 100 million doses of Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccine, and federal health regulators are evaluating whether to release the shots. Robert Kramer apologized during a congressional hearing Wednesday for the problems at the company’s Baltimore plant that resulted in the contamination earlier this year of a batch of the vaccine, the Wall Street Journal reported.
India is second worldwide with 25.8 million cases, and third with 287,122 deaths, although those numbers are understood to be greatly undercounted, given a shortage of tests. India recorded 3,874 deaths on Thursday, below the global record of 4,529 deaths set in a single day on Wednesday, according to its official numbers. Brazil is third in cases with 15.8 million and second in deaths with 441,691. Mexico is fourth by fatalities with 220,850 and 2.4 million cases. The U.K. has 4.5 million cases and 127,956 deaths, the fifth-highest in the world and most of any country in Europe.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
