Brazil registers record deaths, lowest number of births for Jan-June period

FILE PHOTO: A pregnant Brazilian woman, Vanessa Garcia, observers a nurse before receiving a dose of Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine in Sao Paulo, Brazil June 7, 2021. REUTERS/Carla Carniel

SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazil registered the highest number of deaths and lowest number of births in the first six months of the year since comparable data was first compiled in 2003, the national association of notary offices said on Thursday.

Brazil has the second highest COVID-19 death toll in the world behind the United States, with 323,117 of the 528,540 total number of deaths from the disease being registered in the January-June period this year, according to the Health Ministry.