PARIS: More than six billion doses of anti-Covid vaccines have been administered around the world, according to an AFP tally based on official sources on Wednesday at 9.30am GMT (3.30pm Malaysia).
The vaccination drive has reached a steady rhythm as it took 29 days to clock up the sixth billion, almost the same speed as the fourth and fifth billion at 30 and 26 days respectively.
It took around 140 days to get the first billion doses into people's arms.
Nearly 40 per cent (2.18 billion) of the six billion shots have been administered in China. India (826.5 million) and the United States (386.8 million) make up the trio of countries that have administered the most jabs.
Among countries with a population of over one million, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) leads the way with 198 doses per 100 inhabitants and more than 81 per cent of the population fully vaccinated.
Uruguay comes next with 175 doses per 100 inhabitants, followed by Israel (171), Cuba (163), Qatar (162) and Portugal (154).
Some of these countries, including Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Uruguay, have started to give booster jabs with the aim of extending immunity among the fully vaccinated.
While most poorer countries have now started vaccination drives, mainly thanks to the Covax scheme, coverage remains very unequal, although injections have picked up in recent weeks after donations by richer countries.
High-income countries, as defined by the World Bank, administered an average of 124 doses per 100 inhabitants compared with just four doses per 100 inhabitants in low-income countries.
Three countries are not yet vaccinating at all: Burundi, Eritrea and North Korea. – AFP