A man receives a dose of COVID-19 vaccine in Skopje, North Macedonia, Aug. 18, 2021. (Photo by Tomislav Georgiev/Xinhua)

The total number of deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide has increased to 4,390,863 with the global confirmed cases reaching 209,177,957 as of 9:00 am BJT on Thursday, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

Source: Johns Hopkins University

Current status (data as of 9:00 am BJT, Aug 19):

The United States will begin administrating COVID-19 booster shots next month as new data shows that vaccine protection wanes over time, top U.S. health officials announced Wednesday.

Israel's Ministry of Health reported 7,870 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, bringing the tally of infections in the country to 962,193.

Iran reported on Wednesday 39,174 new COVID-19 cases, taking the country's total infections to 4,556,417.

Singapore's Ministry of Health (MOH) reported 53 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, bringing the total tally in the country to 66,334.

Turkey on Wednesday registered 19,944 new COVID-19 cases, raising its tally of infections to 6,138,452, according to its health ministry.

Mexico authorized the emergency use of the U.S. vaccine Moderna against COVID-19, Mexican Undersecretary of Prevention and Health Promotion Hugo Lopez-Gatell said on Wednesday.

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Africa reached 7,354,862 as of Wednesday evening, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said.