Global COVID-19 death toll hit 6 million, U.S. nears one million mark

The official global death toll due to the COVID-19 pandemic on Monday passed six million.

The figure, recorded by Johns Hopkins University, underscores the vast and tragic toll that the pandemic, now entering its third year, has had on the world. 

The milestone figure arrives as many countries end their COVID restrictions as the recent surge of the virus' Omicron variant appears to have peaked and as the pandemic enters its third year.

Still, some countries, including remote Pacific islands, Hong Kong and China are just dealing with the highly-contagious Omicron variant or new outbreaks. 

The United States, which is closing in on one million deaths, has seen a rapid decline in cases, hospitalizations, and deaths in recent weeks following a surge in December and January. 

Experts believe the six million figure was hit some time ago, but the various reporting practices of different countries had likely led to a global undercount. 

Meanwhile. Global agencies including the World Health Organization, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank are now focused on increasing vaccine equity so try to prevent another significant strain of the virus from developing.