FACTBOX-Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus

* India said its drugs regulator will decide on emergency-use applications for foreign COVID-19 vaccines within three working days from application, as it tries to attract Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson and Moderna to sell their shots. * Australian authorities should add more clinics to speed up the country's struggling COVID-19 vaccine roll-out, its main medical association said, dismissing a government plan to create mass inoculation hubs as unworkable in the near term.

A senior Japanese ruling party official said on Thursday that cancelling the Olympics in Tokyo remains an option if the coronavirus crisis becomes too dire, as Japan tackles its fourth wave of infections less than 100 days ahead of the planned start of the Games. DEATHS AND INFECTIONS

* Eikon users, see COVID-19: MacroVitals https://apac1.apps.cp.thomsonreuters.com/cms/?navid=1592404098 for a case tracker and summary of news. EUROPE

* Germany would like to use Regeneron's COVID-19 monoclonal antibody cocktail as a treatment for this disease more broadly but needs to finalize some details on reimbursement, Health Minister Jens Spahn said on Thursday. * Sweden's centre-left government said it would boost spending by 45 billion crowns ($5.31 billion) in its spring budget to fight the ongoing pandemic.

* Ireland is on track to ease restrictions from May 4 to allow the phased reopening of all retail stores and hairdressers and will also develop a plan for further reopenings in June and July, Deputy Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said. * Europe's choppy vaccine roll-out hit more trouble after U.S. drugmaker Johnson & Johnson delayed its COVID-19 shot and Denmark said it would drop a similar vaccine from AstraZeneca over the risk of blood clotting.

AMERICAS * Johnson & Johnson's vaccine remained in limbo as a U.S. health panel called for more data before making a decision on how and whether to resume use of the one-dose shot, putting off a vote for a week or more.

* Argentina's government will tighten pandemic restrictions in and around the capital Buenos Aires to rein in a sharp spike in COVID-19 cases, including shutting schools and imposing a curfew from 8 p.m. to limit social activity. ASIA-PACIFIC

* Hong Kong authorities said on Thursday the city's vaccine scheme would be widened to include those aged between 16 and 29 for the first time, as they aim to boost lackluster demand for inoculations in the Asian financial hub. * India said its drugs regulator will decide on emergency-use applications for foreign COVID-19 vaccines within three working days from application, as it tries to attract Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson and Moderna to sell their shots.

* Australian authorities should add more clinics to speed up the country's struggling COVID-19 vaccine roll-out, its main medical association said, dismissing a government plan to create mass inoculation hubs as unworkable in the near term. MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA

* South Africa has agreed to onerous conditions such as non-refundable downpayments to secure vaccines from Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer, its health minister said, describing the terms vaccine manufacturers had demanded as "difficult and sometimes unreasonable". MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS

* Swiss drugmaker Novartis has signed a deal to make ingredients for Roche's Actemra treatment that is being repurposed for people with COVID-19 associated pneumonia, the company said. * Moderna met with Nexus Pharmaceuticals to discuss manufacturing the shot at the company's new plant in Wisconsin, which can process and fill 30 million doses a month, sources said.

ECONOMIC IMPACT * Asian shares slipped on Thursday, dragged down by Chinese stocks, as recent upbeat economic data raised fears of monetary policy tightening, while the dollar index struggled near one-month lows.

* The German economy probably shrank by 1.8% on the quarter in the first three months of this year due to COVID-19 restrictions, leading economic institutes said, as they revised their joint growth forecast for Europe's largest economy. * The U.S. economic recovery accelerated to a moderate pace from late February to early April as more consumers, buoyed by increased COVID-19 vaccinations and strong fiscal support, spent more on travel and other goods, the Federal Reserve reported.

(Compiled by Veronica Snoj and Krishna Chandra Eluri; Edited by Anil D'Silva, Shounak Dasgupta and Gareth Jones)