RIO DE JANEIRO, Dec. 18 (Xinhua) - Brazil reported on Saturday 3,323 new cases and 153 more deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the national counts to 22,212,343 and 617,754, respectively, said the country's health ministry.

The last seven days saw a daily average of 3,452 new cases and 144 deaths, according to the ministry's daily pandemic report.

For every 100,000 inhabitants in Brazil, there were 10,569 infections and 294 deaths, said the ministry.

As of Friday, 160.4 million people in Brazil had received a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 141.4 million had been fully vaccinated.

Brazil has the world's second-highest COVID-19 death toll, after the United States, and the third-largest caseload, following the United States and India, figures from the Johns Hopkins University showed.