Global

The world has surpassed 500 million officially recorded COVID-19 cases, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Other researchers estimate nearly half of the world’s total population has likely been infected at least once with SARS-CoV-2.

A study is offering the first peer-reviewed investigation into the global death toll of COVID-19. Tracking excess death data from nearly 200 countries the study estimates over 18 million COVID deaths, a number three times higher than official counts.

Several effective COVID-19 vaccines have been developed in rapid time but was that the easy part of the process? Are intellectual property protections and for-profit pharmaceutical companies now getting in the way of vaccinating the world's population?

A global study tracking birth data from 165 countries has found more twins are being born than ever before. The study reveals twinning rates rose by a third over the past 40 years but the researchers suggest this trend may have reached a natural peak.

Billions of people are currently confined to their homes, many are asking how long will this lockdown last, and what happens when we re-emerge? New models are suggesting this wave of social distancing is just the first phase of a war that may last until 2022.

A new report, from the world’s leading epidemic modeling group at Imperial College London, is suggesting intensive active suppression may be the best intervention to reduce mortality and healthcare demand as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread.

As global confirmed COVID-19 cases cross 90,000, with more than 3,000 fatalities, the World Health Organization’s Director-General says the world is now in “unchartered territory” but the virus can still potentially be contained.

Digital rights advocacy group Access Now has released its annual report revealing that governments around world are increasingly shutting down the internet, often to stifle dissent particularly during times of protest or elections.

A new report from a WHO infectious disease team is estimating about two-thirds of Covid-19 cases worldwide have gone undetected. The analysis suggests the global spread of the novel coronavirus is greater than the current volume of confirmed cases.

Following more than a week of meetings the World Health Organization's Director General, upon advice from its Emergency Committee, has declared the ongoing coronavirus outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC).

In a milestone for humanity, the World Health Organization has officially announced the global eradication of wild poliovirus type 3. One strain of the virus remains, with small numbers of cases continuing to be reported in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

The latest global population report from the UN estimates the world's population will peak at 10.9 billion by the end of the century. The vast majority of population growth is expected to come from sub-Saharan Africa, with declining population growth predicted in Asia, Europe and Latin America.