The confirmed global COVID-19 cases hit 23.3 million as of Monday morning, according to the latest tally from Johns Hopkins University (JHU).
Besides, over 807,000 fatalities have been recorded globally, according to the JHU data.
More than 15 million people have got cured from the virus infections, the data shows.
The worst-hit US has seen over 5.7 million infections and more than 176,000 deaths so far – both the highest of any country in the world.
Meanwhile, the second worst-hit Brazil on Sunday reported that it registered 494 deaths from the novel coronavirus in the past 24 hours, the lowest number of fatalities in a single day since May 31. The total confirmed cases have been recorded 3,605,783 in Brazil.
India's COVID-19 total infections surpassed three million on Sunday.
The death toll from the pandemic in the country also surged to 56,706.
Plasma Therapy in US
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an emergency use authorisation (EUA) on Sunday for investigational convalescent plasma for the treatment of COVID-19 in hospitalized patients, reports Xinhua.
It is part of the agency's ongoing efforts to fight COVID-19.
Based on scientific evidence available, the FDA concluded this product may be effective in treating COVID-19 and that the known and potential benefits of the product outweigh the known and potential risks of the product, said a release of the agency.
The EUA authorizes the distribution of COVID-19 convalescent plasma in the United States and its administration by healthcare providers, as appropriate, to treat suspected or laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 in hospitalised patients with COVID-19, said the FDA.
Vaccine in China
A Chinese health official Saturday confirmed the country authorized emergency usage of COVID-19 vaccines developed by some select domestic companies on July 22, reports CCTV.
An emergency use authorization, which is based on Chinese vaccine management law, allows unapproved vaccine candidates to be used among people who are at high risk of getting infected on a limited period
By first inoculating the special groups, like frontline medical workers and civil servants, the move is to ensure that a city can keep normal functions when a health crisis strikes, the law stated.
Similar authorisations have been legalised in many countries. For example, U.S. Food and Drug Administration allows unapproved medical products to be used in an emergency to diagnose, treat or prevent life-threatening disease or conditions.
The national agency has used several emergency use authorisations since the coronavirus outbreak as a way to get many diagnostic tests more quickly to the market than the normal procedures.
According to China's National Medical Products Administration, at least eight potential coronavirus vaccines have entered different stages of clinical trials, reports CCTV.
In an interview with CCTV, Yang Xiaoming, chief scientist of China's vaccine development and CEO of China National Biotec Group (CNBG) said they've signed agreements with many countries on inactivated vaccine clinical trials over the past few months.
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