The official number of worldwide deaths from COVID-19 passed 6 million on Monday. The number shows how the pandemic, now in its third year, is far from over. The Coronavirus Resource Center at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland recorded the total. The virus continues to kill large numbers of people, even as people stop wearing face coverings and begin to travel more freely. Small Pacific islands are experiencing their first large spread of the virus. The isolation of such nations had protected them for more than two years. Hong Kong is also seeing deaths quickly rise. It is testing its entire population of 7.5 million three times this month. Death rates remain high in Poland, Hungary, Romania and other Eastern European countries. The area has also seen more than 1.5 million refugees recently arrive from Ukraine. Ukraine has had poor vaccination rates and high rates of cases and deaths. The United States has recorded nearly 1 million deaths, even with the country’s high vaccine availability and wealth. The U.S. has the highest official death toll in the world. Case numbers in the U.S. have been dropping over the last month. Death rates worldwide are still highest among people who are not vaccinated against the virus, said Tikki Pang. He is a professor at the National University of Singapore’s medical school and former researcher with the World Health Organization.
