The world has reported more COVID-19 deaths in 2021 than in 2020, and it's only June

• Known coronavirus deaths in 2021 have already overtaken the number recorded in all of 2020.
• That's according to Johns Hopkins University data analyzed by The Wall Street Journal.
• According to the paper's analysis, the tipping point was Thursday.

More coronavirus deaths have been recorded worldwide so far in 2021 than in all of 2020, highlighting the ongoing nature of the pandemic even as some countries have started to recover.

Johns Hopkins University data analyzed by The Wall Street Journal showed that the number of known 2021 deaths surpassed the 2020 figure on Thursday.

The Journal reported that about 1,880,000 deaths from COVID-19 were recorded in 2020. As of Thursday, the figure for 2021 was about 1,884,000, with more than half the year still to come.

While vaccines have been approved and distributed around the world this year, they have been concentrated in wealthy nations.

More-transmissible variants have also arisen and spread, driving surges around the planet.