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More than 6 million people worldwide have died from COVID-19 two years after the novel pathogen started spreading globally, despite the distribution of vaccines that slashed fatality rates across the globe.
The latest 1 million recorded deaths came more slowly than the previous intervals. It took about 125 days to go from 5 million deaths to 6 million, compared to 117 days to hit the 5-million mark and less than 90 days each to reach the 3- and 4-million ones. The pace has returned to what was seen during the first year of the pandemic, when the virus was still taking hold.
COVID continues to kill thousands of people every day. Billions more remain unvaccinated, either because they lack access to the shots or are unwilling to receive them, leaving them exposed to the infection and the world vulnerable to new variants.
The U.S. alone accounted for 16% of the last million deaths — the highest share of any country. Brazil was 11% of the total, while India was responsible for 9%.