Coronavirus tally: Global cases of COVID-19 near 247 million as death toll tops 5 million

The global tally for the coronavirus-borne illness climbed above 246.8 million on Monday, while the death toll edged above 5 million, according to data aggregated by Johns Hopkins University. The U.S. continues to lead the world with a total of 45.9 million cases and 745,836 deaths. The U.S. is still averaging about 1,400 deaths a day, according to a New York Times tracker, although cases and hospitalizations are declining. Moderna MRNA, -0.78% said it would delay filing a request with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to emergency use authorization of its COVID-19 vaccine at the 50 µg dose level in children ages 6 to 11, to give the regulator time to complete its review of an earlier submission for use in adolescents 12 to 17 years of age. The company announced the news in a Sunday release, in which it said the FDA had informed it that it needed more time to complete its assessment of the request for the 100 µg dose level in 12-to-17-year-olds. The agency told Moderna late Friday that it would need more time to review the data on the risk of myocarditis after vaccination. India is second by cases after the U.S. at 34.3 million and has suffered 458,437 deaths. Brazil has second highest death toll at 607,824 and 21.8 million cases. In Europe, Russia has the most fatalities at 235,318 deaths, followed by the U.K. at 141,055.