Paris (AFP)

New measures, new reports and highlights: an update on the latest developments in the Covid-19 pandemic around the world.

- Washington wants 70% of vaccinated in each country -

The United States will double its donations of vaccines against Covid-19 and try to rally the international community around a very ambitious goal, namely 70% of the population of each country vaccinated within a year, said Wednesday. senior officials of the US administration.

Washington will purchase and distribute to developing countries an additional 500 million doses of the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine.

- More than 6 billion doses of vaccine -

More than six billion doses of Covid vaccines have been administered worldwide, according to a count made by AFP on Wednesday at 9.30 a.m. GMT from official sources.

Anti-Covid vaccination on August 7, 2021 in Los Angeles Patrick T. FALLON AFP / Archives

Vaccination remains very unequal: countries with "high income" according to the World Bank classification administered an average of 124 doses per 100 inhabitants, "low income" countries only 4.

- Amnesty accuses the labs of neglecting poor countries -

The NGO Amnesty International on Wednesday accused the pharmaceutical groups that produce the Covid-19 vaccines of fueling an "unprecedented human rights crisis", demanding the granting of two billion doses to poor countries.

- Sri Lanka will apply for a loan from the World Bank -

Sri Lanka will seek an emergency loan of $ 100 million from the World Bank to finance its vaccination campaign, authorities said on Wednesday.

The Covid-19 has killed more than 12,000 and infected more than half a million people in Sri Lanka, which also suffers from food shortages blamed on a currency crisis.

Anti-Covid vaccination with the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine on September 21, 2021 in Colombo ISHARA S. KODIKARA AFP

- Viruses similar to SARS-CoV ‑ 2 in bats -

This could be a "major breakthrough" in the search for the origins of Covid-19: researchers from the Institut Pasteur have identified viruses similar to SARS-CoV-2 in bats in northern Laos, capable of infect humans.

The conclusions of this work, in open access since Wednesday on the scientific platform "Research Square", must still be the subject of a peer review for publication in a scientific journal.

- UN: a positive Brazilian minister -

Brazilian Health Minister Marcelo Queiroga was "tested positive" after attending the UN General Assembly in New York on Tuesday, according to an official statement from the South American country.

This is the second positive case in the entourage of Brazilian President Bolsonaro since his arrival in New York.

- More than 4.7 million dead -

The world facing the coronavirus Simon MALFATTO AFP

The pandemic caused by the new coronavirus has killed at least 4,705,691 people around the world since the end of December 2019, according to a report established by AFP from official sources on Wednesday at 10 a.m. GMT.

The United States is the country with the most deaths (678,420), ahead of Brazil (591,440), India (445,768), Mexico (272,580) and Russia (200,625).

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates, taking into account the excess mortality directly and indirectly linked to Covid-19, that the toll of the pandemic could be two to three times higher.

burs-ang / cds / clr

© 2021 AFP