FACTBOX-Latest on worldwide spread of the coronavirus

Coronavirus vaccine approvals have brought comfort for many this Christmas but failed to halt new curbs on travel and gatherings as cases rise worldwide, while the COVAX alliance, which aims to secure fair access to vaccines for poor countries, said it now had agreements in place for nearly 2 billion doses.

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 * Drug developer Moderna Inc said the European Commission had exercised its option to buy an additional 80 million doses of its experimental COVID-19 vaccine.

* British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he hoped that England would not need to go into a third lockdown after Christmas. * Spain's Supreme Court ordered an investigation into the deaths of elderly nursing home residents during the pandemic as the government warned of a possible third wave of infections.

* The Swiss government ordered all restaurants, sports and recreation centres closed for a month from Tuesday. * Austria will go into a third lockdown after Christmas that will last until Jan. 18, several Austrian media outlets reported.

AMERICAS * U.S. Vice President Mike Pence received his COVID-19 vaccine live on television, seeking to shore up public support for vaccinations after U.S. deaths from the coronavirus exceeded 3,000 for a third straight day.

* The U.S. Congress looked increasingly unlikely to meet a deadline to agree on $900 billion in fresh COVID-19 aid and instead may pass a third stopgap spending bill to keep the government from shutting down at midnight. * Canada will donate COVID-19 vaccines to other countries if it receives more doses than necessary, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said.

ASIA-PACIFIC * India's has enough capacity to produce COVID-19 vaccines for its needs and also export to other countries that need its help, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, after the government had said it could soon start voluntary inoculations.

* Christmas travel plans for thousands of Australians were thrown into chaos when states and territories imposed border restrictions after 28 cases were detected in Sydney. * In South Korea, hundreds cannot get into hospital as surging infections overload the health system, officials and media said.

* China is planning to vaccinate 50 million people in the high-priority group before the start of the peak Lunar New Year travel season early next year. MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA

* As Israel prepares to give COVID-19 vaccines to its citizens, Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza are scrambling to secure their own doses. * A second wave of infections is hitting West and Central Africa, and experts say it could be worse than the first.

MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS * U.S. Vice President Mike Pence said U.S. approval for Moderna Inc's coronavirus vaccine could come within hours on Friday, after President Donald Trump tweeted that the vaccine had been approved.

* Pfizer Inc said it had applied for approval in Japan for its COVID-19 vaccine. * Pregnant women with COVID-19 do not get more sick than the wider population, according to a Singapore study.

ECONOMIC IMPACT * Global equity benchmarks struggled for direction while oil prices rallied near nine-month highs as investors weighed hopes for a U.S. coronavirus relief package against moves by the U.S. government to add dozens of Chinese companies to a trade blacklist.

* Denmark lowered its economic growth forecast for next year as new lockdown measures weigh on its economy. * The Bank of Japan unveiled a plan to probe more effective ways to achieve its 2% inflation target, as a new spike in infections threatened to derail a fragile recovery.