Despite a few rich countries doing well, global COVID-19 cases are the highest they've ever been

• Daily new COVID-19 cases remain at an all-time high, a World Health Organization chart shows.
• The number of daily new cases recorded in much of Asia is rising especially fast.
• India is facing a surge, while vaccinations are making steady progress in the US and Europe.

Global COVID-19 cases remain at an all-time high even as some rich countries report fewer and fewer of them.

The graph below, from the World Health Organization's COVID-19 Dashboard, shows the number of daily new coronavirus cases recorded globally as of Sunday:

It shows the number of daily new cases recorded in WHO's South-East Asia region, which consists of 11 countries including India, rising dramatically while the number of new cases in the Europe region gets smaller.

India is facing a devastating surge of the virus, having recorded more than 300,000 daily new cases for the past five days in a row.

Hospitals have reported dire oxygen shortages and are turning patients away, leaving many people to die while waiting for help.

Meanwhile, Europe and the US have recorded fewer daily new cases as their vaccination rollouts continue.

As of Sunday, nearly 140 million people in the US - more than 40% of the population - had received at least one shot of a COVID-19 vaccine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the UK, the proportion of people given a single shot passed 50%, with small nations like Israel, Bahrain, and Bhutan also having strong vaccine drives. But the vast majority of countries are nowhere close to that.

The US has pledged to supply India with raw materials for vaccine production as well as personal protective equipment, testing kits, and ventilators. The UK is also sending ventilators and oxygen devices.