India exceeds 400K COVID-19 deaths, delta variant surges worldwide

India has surged past 400,000 coronavirus deaths as other countries worldwide are also grappling with COVID-19 spikes due to the delta variant.

India on Friday became the third country to hit 400,000 deaths as it struggles to vaccinate its population and get the delta variant under control, Bloomberg reported.

There were 853 COVID-19 deaths reported in India on Friday and an additional 46,617 cases, bringing the total number of cases in the country to over 30 million. 

The nation has only vaccinated 4.4 percent of its population.

The total number of deaths and cases in India is likely much higher than the official tally, according to health experts.

Coronavirus cases across the world have started rising as the high transmissible delta variant has made its way into many countries. 

COVID-19 vaccines are effective against the delta variant, but the variant travels quickly among unvaccinated individuals. 

Anthony Fauci, the U.S.’s top infectious diseases expert, has previously warned surges in the U.S. of coronavirus cases are likely among unvaccinated people. 

Arkansas, which has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the country, is seeing one of the biggest surges in cases since the winter. 

Europe is also struggling with vaccine hesitancy among its young people as the variant and the Euro 2020 soccer tournament have caused a rise in cases.