COVID-19 Fatalities Decrease Globally

While many people thought the COVID-19 pandemic had ended, new data from the World Health Organization (WHO) indicates another SARS-CoV-2 variant is impacting more people.

During the past few months, the EG.5 (Eris) variant spiked COVID-19 cases in India but has recently subsided.

And in the U.S., Eris is the fasting-growing COVID-19 subvariant responsible for around 17% of current COVID cases, according to the U.S. CDC.

As of August 3, 2023, the WHO Weekly epidemiological update #154 confirmed over one million new COVID-19 cases, and 3,100 related deaths were reported in the last 28 days.

From a regional perspective, all five WHO regions reported decreases in the number of both COVID-19 cases and deaths, the Western Pacific Region has reported an increase in the number of cases and a decline in the number of deaths. 

At the country level, the highest numbers of new cases reported within the 28 days were from the Republic of Korea (751 484 new cases; +96%), Brazil (45 642 new cases; -35%), Australia (30 144 new cases; -72%), New Zealand (23 443 new cases; -13%), and Singapore (23 216 new patients; -38%).

And the highest numbers of new 28-day deaths were reported from Brazil (695 new deaths; -34%), Peru (321 new deaths; +28%), Australia (260 new deaths; -67%), the Russian Federation (251 new deaths; -50%), and the Republic of Korea (199 new deaths; +5%).

The good news from the WHO is health officials believe the Fall 2023 COVID-19 vaccine boosters will offer protection against the Eris variant.