FACTBOX-Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus

European countries prepared on Wednesday to resume deliveries of Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine and speed up the rollout after Europe's drug regulator backed the shot. 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

* President Vladimir Putin said he wanted Russia to reach collective COVID-19 immunity by the autumn and called on Russians to get vaccinated against the new coronavirus. * Hundreds of people protested in Berlin against a law parliament is set to pass giving the national government power to impose lockdowns on areas with high infection rates to curb a third wave of the pandemic.

AMERICAS * Chile is shifting its vaccination strategy toward issuing second doses, while slowing administration of new shots, due to concerns over supply shortages and data showing scant protection from one dose of the Sinovac Biotech vaccine that formed the backbone of its campaign.

ASIA-PACIFIC * The Serum Institute of India will be able to raise its monthly output of the AstraZeneca vaccine to 100 million doses by July from 60-70 million now, later than a previous timeline of end-May, its chief executive Adar Poonawalla told CNBC-TV18.

* At least 22 patients died at a public hospital in the country's western Maharashtra state when their oxygen supply ran out after a leak in the tank, a government official said. * Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has cancelled plans to visit India and the Philippines during his country's extended holiday starting in late April amid a sharp rise in COVID-19 cases, a senior government spokesman said.

* Japan's government is also considering a state of emergency for Tokyo and Osaka as new case numbers surge, broadcaster NHK reported. * Residents of some parts of China that are grappling with tight supplies of vaccines have not received their second doses in time, but the crunch will ease by June as production is being stepped up, a health official told state media.

* South Korea hopes the United States will help it tackle a shortage of vaccine in return for test kits and masks Seoul sent to Washington earlier in the pandemic, the foreign minister said. * Sri Lanka has found six cases of blood clots among recipients of the AstraZeneca vaccine, three of whom have died, the country's health minister told parliament.

MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA * Israel no longer wants AstraZeneca's vaccine and is exploring with the company whether a big shipment in the pipeline could be sent elsewhere, Israel's pandemic coordinator said.

MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS * Swiss drugmaker Roche's trial of a pill against COVID-19 in Britain has been delayed as the vaccine rollout in that country made it tough to find patients for its Phase 2 study, the company's drugs division chief said on Wednesday.

ECONOMIC IMPACT * Global stocks gained on Wednesday as early indications of a rebound in European corporate earnings offset concerns over rising infections in Asia that have dampened oil prices.

* British inflation picked up in March as global oil prices rose and retailers scaled back their COVID-driven discounts, and it is expected to keep climbing as the economy reopens from lockdown. * Rating agency S&P affirmed Japan's A+/A-1 sovereign debt ratings, citing its rich current account surplus and an expected gradual economic recovery from the pandemic.

(Compiled by Federico Maccioni; Edited by Kirsten Donovan)