The global controversy continues to escalate over the AstraZeneca vaccine, while the number of people infected with the virus has reached more than 121 million, more than 2.6 million have died, and more than 97 million have recovered around the world.

What follows are the latest developments related to the Coronavirus around the world, in light of the latest numbers, new measures and notable events related to it.

Johnson vaccine for a mutated version of the virus

Experts from the World Health Organization said Wednesday that the vaccine developed by the US company Johnson & Johnson to combat the Coronavirus is recommended even in countries where mutated versions of the most contagious virus are common.

"In countries where the prevalence of mutated versions is high, and in countries where we now have information about the use of this vaccine to control the SARS-Cove-2 virus caused by these copies, we recommend its use," said chief expert Alejandro Craviotto.

The World Health Organization recommends the continued use of the AstraZeneca vaccine

The World Health Organization (WHO) said Wednesday that its experts are still reviewing the safety data for the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine after concerns of developing blood clots, but it has recommended continuing vaccination programs.

"The World Health Organization’s global advisory committee on vaccine safety is carefully evaluating the latest available safety data ... At the present time, the World Health Organization considers that the benefits of the AstraZeneca vaccine outweigh its risks and recommends the continuation of the vaccination campaigns," the United Nations agency said in a statement.

British government: AstraZeneca is safe

British Health Minister Matt Hancock said Wednesday that the AstraZeneca vaccine against Corona is safe, and called for its continued use, stressing the absence of evidence that it causes blood clots.

Matt Hancock wrote in an article in "The Sun" newspaper that "there is no evidence that the vaccine causes blood clots."

"The most important thing for us now is to remain calm and continue vaccination," he added.

And European countries had temporarily suspended the distribution of the anti-corona virus vaccine, after recording a small number of cases of blood clots among its recipients.

The European Medicines Agency confirmed that the benefits of the vaccine outweigh the risks of its side effects, while the final results of its investigation are expected to be announced on Thursday.

Johnson will get the vaccine

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Wednesday that he will take the vaccine developed by AstraZeneca, after several European countries stopped using it due to safety concerns.

The European Commission hints to tighten the conditions for exporting vaccines

On Wednesday, the European Commission hinted at tightening the conditions for exporting anti-Corona vaccines produced within the European Union to outside the bloc, in order to ensure "reciprocity" with countries that produce vaccines, and called on the United Kingdom in particular to export doses to the continent.

"The roads must be open in both directions," UNHCR President Ursula von der Leyen said in a press conference. "We export a lot of vaccines to countries that produce them themselves. This is a call for them to be open."

Immunization of 70% of the European population before the end of the summer

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced on Wednesday that the Commission maintains its goal of vaccinating 70% of adults in the European Union against "Covid-19" before the end of the summer, depending on the delivery of vaccines.

Papua requires emergency doses of AstraZeneca

Papua New Guinea warned Wednesday that the current wave of infections will intensify in the coming weeks and has asked AstraZeneca to urgently deliver one million doses of its vaccine to the archipelago.

On Wednesday, Australia asked AstraZeneca and the European Union to provide the million doses of vaccines it bought to send to Papua New Guinea.

The Palestinians receive the first batch of vaccines

On Wednesday, the Palestinians in the occupied West Bank received a first batch of "Covid-19" vaccines, according to the Covax mechanism designated for deprived areas.

Increase in injuries in Iraq after the Pope's visit

On Wednesday, Iraq recorded 5,663 new cases of Corona virus, which is a record number of infections since the start of the outbreak of "Covid-19" in the country, and two weeks after the Pope's historic visit to it and his meeting with a limited number of crowds, but amid a weak commitment to wearing masks.

The mutated strain is spreading rapidly in the Kurdistan region

The Minister of Health in the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq, Saman Barzanji, announced, on Wednesday, a significant increase in the rate of infection with the mutated Corona strain in the region.

Barzanji said in a statement, that the new strain of Corona virus is spreading rapidly, pointing out that the rate of infection with it has increased 7.8% during the past few days.

Decisions expected in France to face the third wave

French President Emmanuel Macron is supposed to make decisions today, Wednesday, regarding confronting the "third wave" of the epidemic and the vaccination campaign, which was halted after doubts arose about the AstraZeneca vaccine.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Jean Castex declared that "the time has come to consider the arrangements" for the Paris region.

Increase in infant mortality in South Asia

The epidemic may have indirectly contributed to the increase in infant mortality in South Asia in 2020, with an additional 228,000 infant deaths in addition to 11,000 maternal deaths and 3.5 million unwanted pregnancies, according to a UNICEF study.

Relaxation of measures in Tokyo

The Japanese Prime Minister said that his country will lift the state of emergency in the Tokyo region to contain the virus less than 5 months before the holding of the postponed Olympic Games.

The Philippines closes the borders

The Philippines will close its borders to foreigners from Saturday and reduce the number of its citizens allowed to enter the country due to the increase in the number of infections.

Vaccines are necessary to reduce dangerous symptoms

The European Office of the World Health Organization said today, Wednesday, that vaccines are still an essential factor in reducing the dangerous symptoms caused by the Corona virus and the deaths associated with infection with it.

The office, whose activities include 53 countries, said in a post on Twitter, "The safety of vaccines is critical and monitoring is ongoing for all vaccines. Vaccination will reduce serious diseases and deaths from Covid-19, but it cannot prevent the occurrence of other diseases."

A "vaccine document" for trips within the European Union

On Wednesday, the European Commission proposed the launch of a vaccine document against the Coronavirus, on domestic flights within the borders of the European Union, starting next summer.

The document, also known as the green digit, a passport for the vaccine, and a "Covid-19" card, includes information such as whether or not the individual received the vaccine, the place and type of the vaccine, and the level of antibodies for those who recovered from the infection, according to the Anatolian Correspondent.

The proposal provides for the acceptance of vaccine types recognized by the European Union such as Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, Oxford-AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson ).

The document can be issued in two types, digital and paper, for free, and it will also contain a QR code, to quickly identify the validity and security of the document.

The document will be prepared in the English language, along with the language of the country from which it was extracted.

The document will be valid in the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.

The document will be granted to citizens of European Union countries and foreigners residing in them, as well as the possibility of recognition by the Union of similar documents extracted in third countries, provided that the vaccination process is carried out with one of the vaccines recognized by the Union.

Map of global vaccination distribution

On Wednesday, Bloomberg International News published a map of the distribution of doses of the Coronavirus vaccine, which is offered for distribution around the world, nearly 3 months after the start of production and launching on the market.

The total number of vaccines offered for global distribution to date has reached nearly 391.7 million doses distributed to 128 countries around the world, with an average daily vaccination of 9.5 million doses.

The United States topped the list of countries in the world with the most vaccine purchases, with a total of 110.73 million doses, during which 21.7% of the total population received one dose, and 11.8% received the two doses.

And in second place came China, which received 65 million doses of vaccines, which means that the United States and China obtained almost half (45%) of the total doses offered globally.

In third place, came the European Union bloc, which received 51.67 million doses, distributed between 7.9% of the total population of the bloc received the first dose, and 3.4% of the population received the two doses.