The number of Covid-19 cases registered in the US since the start of the pandemic in early 2020 exceeded a staggering 100 million, Johns Hopkins University has said, amid a sharp spike in caseloads globally and the WHO making a strong pitch for vaccination.

Japan, the US, the Republic of Korea, Brazil and China have witnessed a sudden spike in coronavirus cases over the last week.

US-based Johns Hopkins University in its latest update said that 100,003,837 coronavirus cases were reported in the country so far.

The virus has also claimed the lives of 1,088,236 people in the US, it added.

Meanwhile, close to 8,000 and 10,000 people die of COVID-19 every week, said Maria Van Kerkhove, an infectious disease epidemiologist who serves as the technical lead for the COVID-19 response team at the World Health Organisation (WHO).

She told 'Science in 5' that the WHO target of vaccinating 70 per cent of the population in every country has not been achieved so far.

Vaccination against COVID-19 was "fundamental," she said.

According to health officials in China, Chinese cities are currently hit by the highly transmissible Omicron strains, mainly BA.5.2 and BF.7.

The novel coronavirus first emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019.