By Ben Kesslen - NBC News
Coronavirus cases worldwide surpassed 100 million on Tuesday, at a time when virus mutations have caused renewed concern, according to the Johns Hopkins University tally.
The milestone comes
less than three months after 50 million cases were reached
and just over a year after the first contagion was diagnosed in the United States.
The United States remains the leader in recorded coronavirus cases with more than 25 million infections.
India ranks second with more than 10.5 million cases;
and Brazil the third with almost nine million.
[Follow our coverage of the coronavirus pandemic]
The 100 million infection mark occurs as countries are struggling to adapt to
emerging mutations of the virus
and deployment of the vaccine has already begun in some parts of the world.
The variant discovered in the United Kingdom, which spreads more easily and quickly than others, has been detected around the world, including the United States.
There is currently no strong evidence that it causes more serious illness or risk of death, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and current vaccines in the United States appear to be effective against this strain.
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But doubts remain about the variant found in South Africa, which was first seen in early October and has
yet to be detected in the United States
.
Pharmaceutical Moderna announced Monday that it will update its vaccine after it was shown to be less effective against the South African variant.
The Administration chaired by
Joe
Biden has committed to administering 1.5 million doses of vaccine per day
.
And on his second day in office, he signed 10 executive orders to accelerate vaccination, expand testing and reopen schools while outlining a detailed plan to address the pandemic.
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Still, the president has warned that the country has a long way to go.
"We didn't get into this mess overnight and it will take us months to get by," Biden said last week, warning that the country will likely exceed 500,000 deaths in February.