Coronavirus Pandemic Situation Report #131

· As of March 21st, the World Health Organization (WHO) reports that there have been 761,071,826 confirmed cases of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) and 6,879,677 deaths.

· Current trends in reported COVID-19 cases are underestimates of the true number of global infections and reinfections as shown by prevalence surveys. This is partly due to the reductions in testing and delays in reporting in many countries. Data presented in this report may be incomplete and should therefore be interpreted with caution.

· WHO presents change in epidemiological trends using a 28-day interval. This wider time window helps to account for delays in reporting, smooth out weekly fluctuations in case numbers, and continues to provide a clear picture of where the pandemic is accelerating or decelerating.

· Country-Level Updates (Cases and Deaths):

o At the country level, the highest numbers of new 28-day cases were reported from the United States of America (792,202 new cases; -29%), the Russian Federation (339,564 new cases; +25%), China (320,029 new cases; -50%), Japan (291,672 new cases; -73%), and Germany (281,468 new cases; -18%).

o The highest numbers of new 28-day deaths were reported from the United States of America (8,187 new deaths; -39%), the United Kingdom (2,474 new deaths; -9%), Japan (1,898 new deaths; -71%), Brazil (1,587 new deaths; -15%), and China (1,472 new deaths; -85%).

· WHO and the EU are completing a two-year project to boost COVID-19 vaccination coverage in parts of Africa:

o At the start of 2022, the COVID-19 vaccination rate was less than 5% on average in the 16 countries in this project. That rate is now closing in on 30%, the continent’s average among the 14 countries whose data was available in January.

o To achieve those rising numbers, national health workers trained by WHO experts have been administering vaccines in urban hubs, remote villages, refugee and displacement camps, workplaces, public spaces and elsewhere.

o The countries participating in this project are Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea, Liberia, Madagascar, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, and Tanzania.

· As of March 21st, a total of 13,260,401,200 vaccine doses have been administered.

United States of America Highlights:

· The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is reporting that as of March 24th, there have been 103,957,053 cases and 1,123,613 deaths.

· There are currently 14,956 hospitalizations.

· The daily update as of March 24th is:

o 133,521 new cases

o 2,060 new deaths

o 2,445 new hospital admissions

· The common symptoms of Long COVID include fatigue, shortness of breath, fast heartbeat, and brain fog. More details are available here.

· Vaccination Update:

o People with at Least 1 Dose (Age 5+ Years): 85.7% of the population

o Fully Vaccinated People (Age 5+ Years): 73.4% of the population

o People with an Updated Booster (Age 5+ Years):17.5% of the population

o The location of the nearest vaccination centers can be found via the following options:

ü Online