1bn COVID jabs given globally – but over half in just 3 countries

One in four people in rich countries has been vaccinated, compared with one in every 500 in low-income nations.

More than one billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered worldwide, according to a tally, with more than half given in just three countries. At least 1,002,938,540 doses had been administered in 207 countries and territories by 17:45 GMT on Saturday, less than five months after the first mass inoculation programmes began to be rolled out, AFP news agency said, citing figures from official sources. The milestone was reached as a daily record of more than 893,000 coronavirus infections cases were registered worldwide on Saturday, primarily due to an alarming surge of the virus in India.