FACTBOX-Latest on worldwide spread of the coronavirus

* eSwatini aims to vaccinate all its 1.3 million people against COVID-19, senior officials in the southern African kingdom said. MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS * The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said the idea of changing the authorized dosing or schedules of COVID-19 vaccines was premature and not supported by the available data. * Inovio Pharmaceuticals Inc expects to start a late-stage U.S. study of its experimental COVID-19 vaccine candidate in the second quarter of 2021.

England went into another lockdown and New York found its first case of the new coronavirus variant, while some Canadian politicians faced the heat after travelling abroad despite calls to avoid non-essential trips during the pandemic.

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 * England imposed a new national lockdown, which British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said could be lifted as soon as mid-February if the vaccine rollout went as planned and the number of deaths responded to the new measures. Elite sport will be exempt from curbs.

* Spanish doctors and health experts expressed frustration at the slow start to the country's campaign to inoculate people. * The underlying level of COVID-19 in Ireland is now higher than during the first wave in April and May.

AMERICAS * More than two-thirds of the 15 million coronavirus vaccines shipped within the United States have so far gone unused, as the governors of New York and Florida vowed to penalise hospitals that fail to dispense shots quickly enough.

* Eight Canadian politicians resigned or were demoted after travelling internationally over the Christmas holidays. * Mexico has approved a COVID-19 vaccine developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca.

* Panama will receive its first shipment of vaccines from Pfizer and BioNTech later this month. * Major U.S. airlines backed a proposal by public health officials to implement a global testing program requiring negative tests before most international air passengers return to the United States.

ASIA-PACIFIC * A Japanese government decision on a state of emergency in and around Tokyo will be made this week - a move derided by citizens as too little, too late, especially in a nation set to host the Olympics.

* Australia's most populous state called on residents in three cities to be tested for COVID-19 and isolate, as concerns grew that a Sydney cluster may have spread to regional areas. MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA

* Lebanon announced a full lockdown for three weeks, including a night curfew, while Israel's health ministry authorized Moderna's vaccine. * eSwatini aims to vaccinate all its 1.3 million people against COVID-19, senior officials in the southern African kingdom said.

MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS * The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said the idea of changing the authorized dosing or schedules of COVID-19 vaccines was premature and not supported by the available data.

* Inovio Pharmaceuticals Inc expects to start a late-stage U.S. study of its experimental COVID-19 vaccine candidate in the second quarter of 2021. * A COVID-19 vaccine candidate from Chinese firm Stemirna Therapeutics obtained approval to conduct human testing from China's medical products regulator.

ECONOMIC IMPACT * The balance of money circulating in Japan's economy hit a record high for the ninth consecutive month in December, as the central bank continued to flood the economy with cash to cushion the blow from the pandemic.

* U.S. manufacturing activity picked up at its briskest pace in more than six years in December. 

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)