The number of deaths from the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) around the world has surpassed one million, while the number of cases is above 33 million as of Monday (Sept. 28), according to Johns Hopkins University data.

While the US leads the world with more than 7.1 million cases and 205,000 deaths, Brazil has lost some 142,000 people with more than 4.7 million reported cases, and in India, more than 95,000 people died in just over six million cases.

While China is the birthplace of Covid-19 with some 90,000 cases and 4,700 deaths, Turkey’s overall case tally stood at 315,800 with 8,062 deaths as of Monday.

There are more than 170 vaccines that are candidates for Covid-19 and tracked by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Out of those, 142 are at a pre-clinical phase, not yet tried on humans. While 29 of them are at Phase 1, tried on small-scale, 18 are at Phase 2 with expanded safety, and only nine are at Phase 3, tried on a large-scale efficacy. However, none are approved for general use yet.

China has been using experimental coronavirus vaccines on thousands of people since July through an emergency program, and it currently has 11 vaccines in clinical trials and four in Phase 3.

Turkish doctors on Monday gave the first shot of the coronavirus vaccine to a health worker, as Istanbul University’s Cerrahpasa Medical Faculty has begun the Phase 3 trials.

The WHO does not forecast widespread vaccinations against Covid-19 around the world until mid-2021.

Until a successful vaccination is developed and distributed around the world, a recent study shows that Vitamin D reduces the risk of Covid-19 infection and the risk of death in those who carry the virus.

“It is recommended that improving vitamin D status in the general population and in particular, hospitalized patients has a potential benefit in reducing the severity of morbidities and mortality associated with acquiring Covid-19,” according to a study conducted by 11 researchers and published on the scientific journal PLOS One on Friday.

The food with the highest Vitamin D sources are fish, beef liver, cheese, egg yolks, an individual requires 1,000-1,300 milligrams of that vitamin daily, according to WebMD.com.

‘No end in sight’

Shortly after the death toll hit 1,000,555, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the new bulk “an agonizing milestone” and said, “it’s a mind-numbing figure.”

Noting that those who died were fathers and mothers, wives and husbands, brothers and sisters, friends, and colleagues, the UN chief said “The pain has been multiplied by the savageness of this disease.”

“How do you say goodbye without holding a hand, or extending a gentle kiss, a warm embrace, a final whispered ‘I love you’? And still, there is no end in sight to the spread of the virus, the loss of jobs, the disruption of education, the upheaval to our lives,” said Guterres. (PNA)