Interpol warns fake vaccines seized in China and South Africa are ‘tip of iceberg’; Brazil suffers another day of record Covid deaths; Greece prolongs lockdown to 16 March
- Denmark under pressure to drop Israel vaccine cooperation
- Covid deaths high in countries with more overweight people, says report
- Dutch Covid test centre hit by suspected bomb attack
- German doctors broach ‘taboo’ subject of Covid toll on minority groups
- See all our coronavirus coverage
Countries with high levels of overweight people, such as the UK and the US, have the highest death rates from Covid-19, a landmark report reveals, prompting calls for governments to urgently tackle obesity, as well as prioritising overweight people for vaccinations.
About 2.2 million of the 2.5 million deaths from Covid were in countries with high levels of overweight people, says the report from the World Obesity Federation. Countries such as the UK, US and Italy, where more than 50% of adults are overweight, have the biggest proportions of deaths linked to coronavirus.
Related: Covid deaths high in countries with more overweight people, says report
Hello and welcome to today’s live coverage of the coronavirus pandemic with me, Helen Sullivan. I’m on Twitter @helenrsullivan if you need me.
Coronavirus death rates are 10 times higher in those where more than half the adults had a body mass index (BMI) of more than 25kg/m2 – the point at which normal weight tips into overweight, a new study shows. More on this shortly, in the meantime here are the other key recent developments.
