FACTBOX-Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus

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 * Italy plans to give other countries 45 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines before the end of the year, three times its original pledge, Prime Minister Mario Draghi said.

Leaders from developing nations warned the U.N. General Assembly this week that COVID-19 vaccine hoarding by wealthy countries left the door open for the emergence of new coronavirus variants even as infections already increase in many places. 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

* Italy plans to give other countries 45 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines before the end of the year, three times its original pledge, Prime Minister Mario Draghi said. * Russian travel agencies are selling package tours for Russians to receive foreign COVID-19 vaccines abroad amid frustration among some Russians that their domestically produced vaccines have not been approved internationally.

* England's Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty said COVID-19 transmission was currently highest in 12- to 15-year-olds, and that almost all unvaccinated children would get infected at some point. * Ukraine is planning compulsory coronavirus vaccinations for some jobs including teachers and employees of state institutions and local governments, Health Minister Oleh Lyashko said.

* Lithuania will donate 235,900 additional doses of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to Taiwan, the European Union nation said, after angering China by allowing Taiwan to open a representative office under its own name. AMERICAS

* The United States promised to buy 500 million more COVID-19 vaccine doses to donate to other countries as it comes under increasing pressure to share its supply with the rest of the world. * U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he would personally convene world foreign ministers before the end of the year to follow up on commitments made toward fighting the coronavirus pandemic.

* President Jair Bolsonaro, just back from the United Nations, isolated himself at home and canceled a trip after his health minister tested positive for COVID-19 and had to stay in quarantine in New York. ASIA-PACIFIC

* Japan plans to give other countries 60 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said, doubling the target from the previous pledge of 30 million doses. * Thailand pushed back plans to re-open Bangkok and some other major cities to foreign arrivals until November.

* South Korea said it would donate more than 1 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine to Vietnam next month. MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA

* The United Arab Emirates cut the number of places where face masks must be worn as it gears up to open the Expo 2020 world fair next month and as official case numbers fall. MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS

* A U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory panel could vote on the use of a third shot of Pfizer Inc and partner BioNTech SE's COVID-19 vaccine on Thursday, an agency official said. * Vaccine maker Serum Institute of India (SII) will invest 50 million pounds ($68 million) in Oxford Biomedica to help fund the development of a plant that manufactures COVID-19 shots.

ECONOMIC IMPACT * A gauge of global stock markets trimmed gains in choppy trading on Wednesday and the U.S. dollar strengthened after the Federal Reserve cleared the way for the central bank to reduce its monthly bond purchases soon.

(Compiled by Krishna Chandra Eluri, Milla Nissi; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise and Anil D'Silva)

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