After five weeks of declining COVID-19 deaths, the number of the disease’s fatalities reported globally increased by 4% last week, according to the World Health Organization. In its weekly assessment of the pandemic issued Thursday, the United Nations health agency said there were 8,700 COVID-19 deaths last week, with a 21% jump in the Americas and a 17% increase in the Western Pacific. The WHO said coronavirus cases continued to fall, with about 3.2 million new cases reported last week, extending a decline in infections since the peak in January. He said there was “no acceptable level of deaths from COVID-19,” given that the global community now has the vaccines, medicines and diagnostics to stop the virus. They are the last age group in the U.S. without access to COVID-19 vaccines, and many parents have been anxious to protect their youngest children.

Source: Los Angeles Times June 16, 2022 22:22 UTC