Another grim coronavirus milestone

• Less than two years into the coronavirus pandemic, more than 5 million people worldwide have died of Covid-19, according to figures released by John Hopkins University on Monday. [BBC / Philippa Roxby]
• The European Union, United States, Brazil, and the UK have accounted for almost half of the deaths. [AP / Carla K. Johnson]
• “It’s quite possible that the number of deaths is double what we see. But five million is such a staggering number on its own. No country has been able to escape it,” Amber D’Souza, professor of epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, told National Geographic.  [NatGeo / Amy McKeever]
• The development of vaccines has helped curb the pandemic, but recent increases in deaths and hospitalizations likely caused by variants, vaccine hesitancy, and (in the northern hemisphere) more time indoors due to weather are worrying public health officials. [CNBC / Holly Ellyatt]
• According to the World Health Organization, Europe and Southeast Asia reported a roughly 20 percent increase in new cases, while the latter also saw a 13 percent increase in deaths. Russia, Poland, and Singapore are all experiencing a jump in cases. [NPR / Jaclyn Diaz]
• Officials from the G20 announced Friday that the bloc will help boost vaccinations in developing countries with the goal of vaccinating 70 percent of the world by mid-2022. [Reuters / Jan Strupczewski and Andrea Shalal]