Coronavirus tally: Global cases of COVID-19 near 189 million; BioNTech vaccine sees 10 times more antibodies than Sinovac one in study

The global tally for the coronavirus-borne illness climbed above 188.9 million on Friday, while the death toll climbed further above 4.06 million, according to data aggregated by Johns Hopkins University. The U.S. leads the world with a total of 33.9 million cases and in deaths with 608,400 as the highly infectious delta variant continues to spread fast, especially in states with low vaccination rates. The U.S. vaccine program has all but stalled with 48.3% of the population fully inoculated, according to a CDC tracker, up from 48.2% on Thursday. Cases are rising in the U.S. again and have more than doubled in the last two weeks. The average daily case rate stood at 28,315 on Thursday, according to a New York Times tracker, up 121% from two weeks ago. Cases are climbing across most of the country as the delta variant takes hold and are highest in Arkansas, Missouri, Florida and Nevada, according to the Times. There was positive vaccine news in a study published in the Lancet Microbe that found the vaccine developed by BioNTech BNTX, +4.28% and Pfizer PFE, +0.35% showed 10 times more antibodies than the Chinese one from Sinovac. India is closing in on the U.S. in cases at 31 million but is third in deaths at 412,531, while Brazil is second in deaths at 538,942 but is third in cases at 19.3 million. Mexico has fourth-highest death toll at 235,740 but has recorded just 2.6 million cases, according to its official numbers. In Europe, Russia leads in deaths with 144,446 fatalities, while the U.K. has 128,864, making Russia the country with the fifth-highest death toll in the world and highest in Europe.