• In the US, deaths from COVID-19 surpass 700,000. Although the country has offered widespread access to coronavirus vaccines at no charge, it has one of the highest recent death rates of any country with an ample supply of vaccines. The US CDC reports 100, 000 COVID-19 deaths since mid-June: 2,900 of them occurred among vaccinated people. Source
• Philippe Duneton, the Executive Director of Unitaid, announced that he hopes to reach an agreement with Merck and generics producers to supply low- and middle-income countries with molnupiravir, the company’s experimental COVID-19 antiviral Merck, which has agreed to a $1.2 billion supply deal with the US government, under which it would provide 1.7 million treatment courses, has said it can produce 10 million treatment courses by the end of 2021. Source