UN chief receives first dose of COVID-19 vaccine

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres received the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine Thursday.

"I was fortunate and grateful to get the first dose of my #COVID19 vaccine today," Guterres said on Twitter.

"We must get to work to make sure the vaccine is available to everyone, everywhere. With this pandemic, none of us are safe until all of us are safe,” he added.

He joined New Yorkers in his age group at a high school used for vaccination.

Since December 2019, the pandemic has claimed more than 2.18 million lives in 192 countries and regions.

Over 101.4 million cases have been reported worldwide, with recoveries now totaling over 56 million, according to figures compiled by US-based Johns Hopkins University.

The US, India and Brazil remain the worst-hit countries in terms of cases.