COVID-19: What you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic on 22 June

1. How COVID-19 is affecting the globe

Confirmed cases of COVID-19 have passed 178.7 million globally, according to Johns Hopkins University. The number of confirmed deaths stands at more than 3.87 million. More than 2.66 billion vaccination doses have been administered globally, according to Our World in Data.

New South Wales, Australia, has reported its largest jump in new locally acquired COVID-19 cases in nearly a week, causing authorities to extend a mask mandate in Sydney for a week.

India administered a record 7.5 million COVID-19 vaccine doses yesterday as part of a government campaign to inoculate all adults for free.

The White House has outlined a plan to share 55 million COVID-19 vaccine doses globally - with 75% shared through the COVAX vaccine-sharing facility.

Qatar has announced that only fully vaccinated fans will be allowed to attend next year's soccer World Cup.

Young adults are getting COVID-19 vaccines at a slower pace than older parts of the US population, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said yesterday.

Reported COVID-19 deaths passed 100,000 in Colombia yesterday.

The World Health Organization is setting up a 'tech transfer hub' in South Africa as part of a plan to give companies from lower-income countries the knowledge and licences to produce COVID-19 vaccines.

2. Most low- and middle-income countries don't have enough shots to continue vaccinations

More than half of low- and middle-income countries receiving COVID-19 vaccine doses through COVAX don't have enough doses to continue, a World Health Organization official warned yesterday.

"I would say of the 80 AMC (advance market commitment) countries, at least well over a half of them would not have sufficient vaccine to be able to sustain their programmes right now," WHO Senior Adviser Bruce Aylward told a briefing.

He added the actual proportion was likely 'much higher' and said some of them had run out completely.

3. World Bank, African Union to expand access to COVID-19 vaccines

The World Bank and African Union announced yesterday that they would work together to accelerate vaccinations for up to 400 million people across Africa.

They said the agreement would provide resources to the Africa Vaccine Acquisition Task Team initiative and would complement efforts already underway through COVAX.

"The World Bank is very pleased to support African countries through this partnership with the African Union to quickly provide hundreds of millions of doses," World Bank President David Malpass said in a statement. "Countries urgently need more pathways for acquiring vaccines that match their needs and have early delivery schedules.”