FACTBOX-Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus

* Japan said it will impose emergency measures in the western region of Osaka to halt a rebound in COVID-19 cases. * South Korean authorities are facing a backlash for relying on global vaccine-sharing scheme COVAX for a bulk of its COVID-19 shots as shipment delays threaten to slow the country's inoculation programme.

Pfizer Inc and BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine is around 91% effective at preventing the disease, the companies said, citing updated trial data that included participants inoculated for up to six months. 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

* Europe's rollout of vaccinations is "unacceptably slow," the World Health Organization's European head said, raising concern that delays in innoculating the public could prolong the pandemic as cases of variants spread. * France could hit the peak of the third wave of the pandemic in seven to 10 days with the new restrictive measures announced on Wednesday, Health Minister Olivier Veran told France Inter radio.

* Britain's opposition Labour leader has expressed scepticism about the use of so-called vaccine passports to allow people to access hospitality and entertainment venues, saying the "British instinct" could be against such documents. * A shortage of vaccines means Sweden expects to offer all adults a first dose of a vaccine by Aug. 15, later than its original plan of the end of June, officials said.

AMERICAS * U.S. President Joe Biden is enlisting the help of groups as varied as NASCAR and the NAACP as part of a multi-billion dollar effort to convince Americans to take COVID-19 vaccines.

* Brazil has detected a new COVID-19 variant that is similar to the one first seen in South Africa, the head of Sao Paulo's Butantan institute said. ASIA-PACIFIC

* China's TopRidge Pharma has agreed to produce more than 100 million doses of Russia's two-shot Sputnik V vaccine, Russia's RDIF sovereign wealth fund said. * Hong Kong authorities said they would resume the use of BioNTech's vaccine next Monday after abruptly halting inoculations nine days ago due to defective packaging.

* India began vaccinating tens of thousands of people above the age of 45 in its biggest push yet against a surging coronavirus that has hit the highest daily count since early October, officials said. * Japan said it will impose emergency measures in the western region of Osaka to halt a rebound in COVID-19 cases.

* South Korean authorities are facing a backlash for relying on global vaccine-sharing scheme COVAX for a bulk of its COVID-19 shots as shipment delays threaten to slow the country's inoculation programme. * Misinformation shared on Facebook is the biggest threat to Papua New Guinea's COVID-19 vaccine plans and the social media giant must take steps to "stop it", the Pacific country's health minister said.

MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA * India's temporary hold on major exports of AstraZeneca's shot will undermine Africa's vaccination plans, and could have a "catastrophic" impact if extended, the head of the continent's disease control body said.

* Egypt received 854,400 doses of AstraZeneca's vaccine as part of the global COVAX agreement, the health ministry said. MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS

* Rates of stillbirth and maternal deaths rose by around a third during the pandemic, with pregnancy outcomes getting worse overall for both babies and mothers worldwide, according to an international data review. * Johnson & Johnson said it had found a problem with a batch of the drug substance for its vaccine being produced by Emergent Biosolutions, and said the batch did not advance to the final fill-and-finish stage.

ECONOMIC IMPACT * World stocks ran higher following their slowest quarter in a year, as U.S. economic strength offset the return to strict lockdown measures in parts of Europe and elsewhere.

* The World Trade Organization said risks from the uneven roll-out of coronavirus vaccination campaigns and the possible emergence of vaccine-resistant strains clouded the outlook for the global trade in goods, while raising its growth forecast slightly. (Compiled by Federico Maccioni and Veronica Snoj; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore and Bernadette Baum)